Broken Hearts and Healing Minds
by Dark Satirist
Summary: Sequel to Overdose of Pain, Onslaught of Reality. After the incident at the river court, lives are changed. Some are lost and some must pick up the pieces and move on with their life. Life moves on and graduation draws ever nearer. Better summary inside.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own **_**One Tree Hill**_** or any of its characters. **

**Author's Note: Sorry it has taken me so long to post this, I was having serious issues writing it. I rewrote it ten times before I wrote this. Still not too certain about it, though, so be gentle in the reviews.**

**Summary: Sequel to Overdose of Pain, Onslaught of Reality. After the incident at the river court, lives are changed. Some are lost and some must pick up the pieces and move on with their life. Graduation is four months away, but there are still many challenges to overcome. The first is will Peyton and Lucas ever get together? What will Haley say to Nathan's proposal? Will the Ravens win the elusive state championship? Prom is coming up, but there is the question of whose going with who. And what is Dan up to in all of this? Find out in _Broken Hearts and Healing Minds_. **

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Broken Hearts and Healing Minds

**Chapter 1**

Rain started falling from the sky in slow, wet drops, mingling with the tears on her streaked face. This wasn't how it was supposed to be. This wasn't how it was supposed to end.

There were many things in life someone shouldn't have to do. One was watching the love of your life drag his already dead brother out of the river and try to revive him. Another was watching your best friend in the entire world slowly lose the struggle for his life.

Both were what Peyton Sawyer had to watch that rainy afternoon that was supposed to be one of the happiest of her life. Things had started falling back into place. Lucas had told her that he loved her and wanted to be with her after nearly a month of stony silences. Her father was going to be home a lot more often now. Her best friend, Nathan, had proposed to her other best friend, Haley. Everything was supposed to be perfect. Everything was supposed to be the opposite of what it was now.

Lucas had been the one to surface first. Peyton had felt instant relief at the sight of him, especially once he started swimming. That relief had turned to horror at the sight of where he was swimming. He wasn't swimming towards shore; he was swimming towards a limp form in the water, one Peyton had at first mistaken for driftwood. It turned out to be Ryan, the guy who had tried and nearly succeeded to kill Lucas twice in the past six months.

Lucas had begun to fight the battle against the currents as he turned back towards shore with Ryan in tow. He made it, barely. The second he reached shore, paramedics rushed towards him to help him out.

Peyton seemed frozen to the spot as the paramedics failed in their attempts to revive Ryan.

"He's not going to make it," she remembered one of them saying sadly. "He's too far gone."

Peyton's heart wrenched painfully as she had to watch Lucas struggle to take the news. He had risked his own life to save the bastard that had tried to kill him on more then one occasion only to find out that he had been too late.

"He can't be," Lucas had whispered hoarsely.

"You did all you could, son," the paramedic had said, placing a hand on Lucas's shoulder.

Peyton's heart broke into pieces as she watched Lucas slowly slide to the ground at the news, his face raw with pain and emotion. She didn't even notice at the time that he was gripping his ribs painfully and his breathing had become erratic.

"He's going into shock!" someone had yelled.

The last thing she remembered clearly of that scene was Lucas being loaded into an ambulance, unconscious. He had broken two ribs during his time in the river, and had a possible pneumothorax, which meant it was probable that a bit of his rib had splintered his lung. He had also had a lot of fluid build up in his lungs, which meant he was still in danger of drowning if they couldn't get the water out.

It had been too much for Peyton. She had refused the paramedic's offer of letting her ride in the ambulance with Lucas to the hospital. She wouldn't have been able to stand it if he died just inches away from her. So she decided to stay at the river court in the freezing rain, alone.

That had been nearly three hours ago. She had barely moved from the spot she had been standing in ever since Lucas's head had appeared above the river. She had merely sat down and kept staring out at the river, as though expecting someone to appear from it and tell her that this had all been a bad dream, that Lucas was just fine, and that Nathan hadn't been shot.

Footsteps sounded behind her, almost if they were on cue with her thoughts. Peyton barely acknowledged the person's presence, feeling too far-gone to care about what other people thought about her.

"Hey."

The voice made Peyton start in surprise. She hadn't been expecting anyone to talk to her.

"Peyton, are you okay?"

Peyton shook her head, fighting back the tears of anguish that threatened to spill over. She knew that this person wouldn't care if she cried or not, hell, he had seen her cry many times, but she had to keep herself under control.

"Not really," she whispered hoarsely.

"I heard about Nathan and Lucas," he said softly, sitting down on the wet ground beside her. "Any news?"

"I don't know, Stephen," she whispered, the tears breaking free of her hold on them. "I didn't go to the hospital. I couldn't. Not after seeing him like that."

Stephen sighed before he spoke again.

"Peyton, there's nothing you could have done," he said softly.

"I know," she whispered. "I know."

"Let me take you home," he offered.

"I don't want to go home," she said, her voice barely louder then a whisper. "I don't want to have to listen to my father tell me it's going to be all right."

"It will be, Peyton."

"How? How do you know that it's going to be okay? You weren't there! You didn't see what happened! If you did, you would know that nothing's going to be okay after this. Even if Lucas and Nathan make it, it's not going to be okay."

"Why?" Stephen challenged. "Why isn't it going to be okay?"

"You wouldn't understand."

"Try me."

Peyton sighed and shook her head.

"Everything's going to have changed. Nothing's going to be the same anymore."

"Maybe it's for the better? I mean, Ryan is gone and now Lucas doesn't have to worry about anyone trying to kill him."

"Maybe," Peyton echoed softly. "Maybe not. Either way, things are going to be different."

* * *

The hospital waiting room was unnaturally quiet, save for the sound of rain beating against the windowpanes and the muffled crying of the room's lone occupant.

Haley was trying her hardest to stop the tears from falling and the sobs from wracking her, but it wasn't happening. Every time she had thought she had calmed herself down, a new image of Nathan in arms, bleeding to death, or Lucas collapsing on the river court after having drug Ryan out of the river, entered her mind and started the hysterics all over again. She knew that there was a very good possibility that Nathan and Lucas both wouldn't make it through the next couple of hours, but she couldn't think of her life without them. They were a huge part of who she was and without them, she would be nothing.

She was supposed to be with Nathan. No matter how little sense they made together or how much stood against them, they were supposed to be together. Nathan had agreed to try to get a basketball scholarship to Stanford of all places just so he could be with her. He had asked her to marry him! The gods wanted them to be together, didn't they?

"Haley?"

Haley's mindless ramblings were cut short by the sound of her cousin, Brooke, coming over to her.

"Haley, what's going on? Why are you crying? Why are you here? Are Lucas and Nathan okay?"

"No," Haley whispered, her head in her hands. "Lucas and Nathan aren't okay."

"What happened?" Brooke asked, sitting in the chair next to Haley's and wrapping an arm around her sobbing cousin.

"Nathan proposed to me," Haley said, her voice breaking as she tried to wipe the tears away. "Then Ryan appeared and he had a gun. Lucas knocked the gun out of Ryan's hands and the thing discharged. Nathan got hit with the bullet."

"Oh my god," Brooke gasped. "Where's Lucas?"

"In surgery," Haley said, hanging her head in her hands. "He tackled Ryan into the river. I- I don't really know what happened, but something went wrong and he collapsed on the river court. It was awful, Brooke."

"And Peyton?" Brooke asked, fighting back tears of her own. Her voice was quiet and fearful. Haley shrugged.

"I don't know. She was at the river court when we left for the hospital, but I don't know where she is now. Brooke?"

"Yeah, Hales?"

"What am I going to do? Nathan might not make it. Lucas might not. What am I going to do if they don't?"

"Right now, you're going to stop thinking like that," Brooke said, her voice suddenly fierce. "They're going to be okay. They are going to make it through this."

"How do you know that?"

"Because I know Nathan and I know Lucas. They're strong and they are fighters. Nathan won't give up, especially if you said yes to his proposal. You did say yes, didn't you?"

"I never got the chance," Haley admitted, tears starting to slide down her face again. She looked away from Brooke and at the now empty nurse's station. "Everything happened so fast that I just never got the chance. I was going to."

"And you are going to," Brooke said, her voice soft again. "He's going to make it, Hales. I promise you that."

Haley turned back to Brooke, her eyes red and puffy from crying.

"I'm going to hold you to that," she threatened, offering a weak, watery smile. Brooke returned the smile almost instantly.

"I'm counting on it," she said. "Because he will be."  
Haley sighed and leaned her head onto Brooke's shoulder.

"Brooke?"

"Yeah, Hales?"

"Thanks. For being here for me and everything. Especially after the way I treated you before you left."

"I wouldn't be anywhere else right now, Haley. You don't have to thank me."

"Then can I apologize?"

"No. You were right. Everything you said about me _was_ true. But I've changed, Haley. And I really am going to try my hardest with my child."

"I know that you've changed. I shouldn't have said those things about you. Especially after everything you had been through. I really am sorry."

"It's okay, Hales. It's not your fault."

The entrance of a doctor interrupted their conversation.

"Family of Nathan Scott?"

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Dun. Dun. DUN! Evil cliffhanger… but, that's to be expected. I know this chapter was pretty short, but I was having serious issues with this thing. I hope you enjoyed it all the same. Read and review, please!


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own **_**One Tree Hill **_**or any of its characters.**

**Author's Note: This chapter did not want to be written. As a result, it's not very good and it's kind of stringy in some points, but it works. There is no Naley interaction in this chapter. I will add some of that next chapter. This chapter is mostly one big debate between Peyton and herself about who she wants to be with.**

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Broken Hearts and Healing Minds

**Chapter 2**

Peyton sat alone at the river court in the pouring rain. Stephen had gone home after a phone call from his mother. Haley had called twenty minutes ago with news that both Lucas and Nathan were okay and that Nathan was awake. Haley hadn't gone in to see Lucas yet, leaving Peyton to choose whether or not she wanted to be the first to see him.

Peyton had been debating for the past twenty minutes with herself if she wanted to go see Lucas. Yes, she had agreed that she wanted to get back together with him at all costs, but there was something holding her back from going to him. Maybe it was because she had had all the chances in the world to talk to Stephen about this in the past few hours and hadn't, or maybe it was because she just didn't want to go and find out that he didn't feel the same way about her anymore. She knew the latter was practically impossible; the guy had been pining over her for the past six weeks, but there was always the slight chance that held her back.

"Just go already!" she told herself angrily.

_But why_? her other side argued. _Why should I go see him? I already have a perfectly good boyfriend named __**Stephen**__. Why should I go see a guy who has broken my heart more times then I can count?_

"Because I still love Lucas," Peyton said softly. It was the first time she had actually admitted it to herself out loud and just saying it made her feel immensely guilty. What about Stephen? He had been nothing but perfect towards her in the past three weeks they had been together.

_But you were with Lucas for three __**years**__,_ her other side said. _You loved him. You still love him. He admitted it to you that he still loves you. Has Stephen ever told you that?_

"No," she whispered. "He hasn't."

_But you know that he really likes you,_ her other side pointed out. _And that he could grow to love you. Why not give him that chance?_

"Argh! Just shut up!" Peyton yelled, finally losing it. Her mind was going in endless, answerless circles that were beginning to grate on her last nerve. She knew that the only way to solve this was to talk to both Lucas and Stephen.

"But I haven't said anything yet," someone said, in a mock injured tone. "Should I just leave you to it?"

Peyton whipped her head around, surprised to find Brooke Davis standing behind her in the pouring rain.

"Brooke! What are you doing here? You weren't supposed to be back for another week!"

Brooke had left Tree Hill to go visit her parents, who had been working overseas in France since they moved to Wilmington. Brooke had felt the need to tell her parents that she was pregnant and that she was planning on keeping her baby.

"My parents decided that they didn't want their knocked up daughter staying in France with them and showing them off in a bad light. So they shipped me back to Charleston to live with my aunt and uncle, who didn't want me either, so they sent me up here to live with their 'other daughter', Haley," Brooke said, with a shrug of her shoulders. Brooke really never got along with any of her family, except for Haley, so none of this was a surprise to Peyton.

"I'm sorry," she said, turning her gaze back out the river. "I really am."

She sighed as Brooke sat down next to her.

"Nathan and Lucas are both awake," the brunette said. "Lucas asked where you were. Nathan told me to tell you that he was going to be fine."

Peyton's heart soared at the mention of Lucas. Her rebel side couldn't help but point out that she never felt this way when Stephen was mentioned.

"That's great. Haley should be pleased that Nathan's going to be okay," Peyton said, trying to sound disinterested. Brooke caught on to her distress immediately.

"Peyton, is everything okay?"

"You mean, aside from what all happened today? Because of your ex-boyfriend?" Peyton asked pointedly.

Ryan and Brooke had gone out for about two and a half months, but had broken up after Brooke had found out that her boyfriend, Brant, was really Ryan, the psychopath who had tried to kill Lucas, Haley, and Peyton on more than one occasion. Brooke got the raw end of the deal, for she had had sex with Ryan, apparently, and Ryan was the father of Brooke's baby.

"I'm not going to apologize for going out with him. I had no idea that Brant was really Ryan. In fact, I never even _knew_ about Ryan until he went after Lucas in that bar fire. So whatever you wanted to say about that, just shove it. Because I'm sick of hearing about how badly I screwed up. I got that enough from my parents."

"Sorry," Peyton said numbly.

"It's okay. I didn't come here to yell at you. I came here because you need someone to talk to."

"Oh, I do?" Peyton challenged weakly, knowing Brooke was right. Brooke wasn't the person she needed to talk to, though. That person was lying in a hospital bed.

"Yeah, you do. And frankly, I'm the only person you've got whose not lying in a hospital bed. So, you want to tell me what's up?"

Peyton sighed again, glancing briefly at Brooke before looking back at the river.

"Lucas asked me to get back together with him today. Before Ryan happened."

"Really? That's great!"

"The thing is, I'm with Stephen. And he's been so good to me, Brooke. I can't just end things with him because Lucas has finally seen the light."

Peyton realized how bitter she sounded, but she couldn't help herself. It was how she was feeling at the moment.

"Have you told Stephen what Lucas said?" Brooke asked. She didn't offer any immediate advice, which Peyton was thankful for. She didn't know if she'd be able to stand someone just telling her right off what she needed to do.

"No, not yet. I just don't know how to. I don't want to hurt him, but I know that what I'm going to tell him _will_ hurt him"

"Then I guess before you talk to Stephen, you're going to have to decide who matters to you the most. Take their feelings out of the equation and just think about who you couldn't live without. Follow your heart, Peyton. As cheesy as it sounds, its what you're going to have to do."

"I already know who I couldn't live without," Peyton said softly. "But the fact is, every time I'm with him, one of us ends up getting hurt both emotionally and physically trying to protect the other. It always ends badly, Brooke, and I don't want to hurt anymore."

"But wouldn't it hurt more knowing that you know who your soul mate is, but being with someone else? Wouldn't that hurt all three of you just as much, if not more? If you want to be with Lucas, Peyton, then be with Lucas. But don't hide with Stephen just because you're afraid of getting hurt. That's apart of life."

"When did you get so wise?"

"When I was forced to grow up and take responsibility for my actions, like you need to do."

"Ouch."

"I'm not saying this to hurt you, Peyton. I'm saying it because I care about you and I want you to be happy."

"That seems to be everybody's goal this year. 'Let's make Peyton happy at all costs'!"

"You have a lot of good people that care about you, and most of them are in the hospital."

Peyton sighed for the third time that hour.

"I should go to the hospital."

"It beats sitting out here trying to catch pneumonia in the rain," Brooke agreed. "C'mon, I'll drive you."

"Thanks, Brooke," Peyton said, standing up. "For everything."

"It's what I'm here for," Brooke said simply.

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Lucas flipped listlessly through the channels on the TV, ignoring the dull ache that had presented itself in his leg and chest. He couldn't get the scene of the river court out of his head. He remembered stepping towards the edge of the river, then the gun going off as it hit the ground. He didn't remember much after that, except surfacing, going after an already dead Ryan, and pulling him back to shore. He didn't even remember getting to shore, just pulling Ryan along behind him. He must have blacked out or something, because the next thing he knew, he had woken up in a hospital bed with a doctor telling him he had broken one of his ribs and that a piece of the bone had pierced his lungs. Now, he was getting bored with waiting for the doctor to come back in and tell him how Nathan was doing.

A knock at the door brought Lucas out of his thoughts. He winced as he tried to prop himself up on his pillows as Peyton came in, looking as though she had just went swimming with all her clothes on.

"Hey," she said shyly, hovering nervously by the door.

Lucas smiled; glad to finally see a friendly face. Brooke had been there half an hour ago, but he hadn't exactly been with it then.

"Hey," he replied.

A relieved smile crossed Peyton's face as she walked over to the vacant hospital chair beside Lucas's bed.

"How are you feeling?" she asked, sitting down.

"Like I was put through the washing machine one too many times," Lucas said. Teasingly, he added, "I feel sorry for my favorite shirt. It must be exhausted!"

"Ha, ha," Peyton said, smirking. "Glad to hear that you're okay."

"Glad to be okay," Lucas said. Not wanting to talk about him anymore, he said, "How are you doing?"

"What do you mean?" she asked, surprised at the question.

"You might not have been hit with a bullet or been pulled into the river, but you still had to watch all of that. How are you handling it?"

"Better, now that I know both of you are going to be okay."

"Nathan is going to be okay?"

Lucas felt relief crash over him. He was glad that no one would suffer any long-term damage because of Ryan's crazy obsession to kill him.

"He might not be playing in the state championship next week, but he's going to be okay," Peyton said.

"That's great, Peyton. I'm really glad to hear it," Lucas said. He sighed and looked away from Peyton.

"Luke, what's wrong?"

"Nothing."

He still refused to look at her, knowing that if he did, he would ask her again if she'd get back together with him and he couldn't do it. People he cared about had a tendency to end up in the hospital, close to death and he wouldn't be able to stand it if she were next.

"Lucas, come on. I know you better then that. What's up?"

"I can't ask you to be with me, Peyton. I want to, I'd give anything for you to be, but I can't do that."

"Why not?"

Peyton was defensive, which made Lucas's hopes rise. She hadn't flat out agreed with him about not being with her. She had meant what she said earlier about wanting to be with him again.

"I don't want you to get hurt."

"I won't get hurt."

"You already have been, Peyton. You were attacked by those guys on the street, I broke your heart on more then one occasion, and to top it all off, you were nearly killed today. I couldn't stand it if you were hurt again or even killed."

Peyton was silent at this. Lucas moved his eyes from the rain-streaked window he had been speaking to back to Peyton. She looked as though she were enjoying some sort of private joke with herself.

"What?" he asked, confused. He had just said perhaps the most serious thing in his life and she was _laughing_.

"It's scary how alike we are, Luke, that's all," she said, a huge smile on her face. "I was having those same doubts, you know. Not that you were the one to hurt me, but that I was the one hurting you."

"Peyton, you weren't-"

"Yes I was," Peyton interrupted. "Think about it. Why did Ryan go after you? Because you stuck up to him defending _me_. Why did you break up with me in the first place? Because _I_ kissed Ryan and Stephen. Then you were pulled into the river today because you were defending _me_."

"It's not your fault," Lucas said stubbornly. "If it hadn't been about you, Ryan would have tried to kill me anyways."

"Why?"

"Because Ryan is- was- my brother. He would have gone after Nathan, too, if he hadn't died in the river today."

"What?"

Peyton was beyond shocked. She had obviously forgotten what Lucas had said at the river court to Ryan earlier.

"It's true. I wish to god that it wasn't, but it's true. Karen had twins the night she had me. She gave Ryan up for adoption."

"But- why?"

"I have no idea. Maybe she didn't think she could handle two of us, maybe because she knew what Ryan would turn into. I don't know."

"This… this can't be true."

"It is."

"How? How do you know that it's true? Did you take Ryan's word for it? Cause we all know just how trustworthy _he_ was."

"No. I asked Dan. I searched the public records. Both confirmed what Ryan told me in the first place."

"How did you find out about this? _When_ did you find out about this?"

"I found out after the trial. I was looking for you when I ran into him."

Peyton looked as though she were about to say something, but decided against it. Lucas seemed to know what she had been about to say.

"It's not your fault, Peyton. I'm glad that I found out."

"It's just so weird, though. It's scary, really. Why would he tell you this, anyway?"

"To mess with my head. You know what he was like, Peyton."

"Yeah, I guess I do."

They sat in an uncomfortable silence, broken only by the steady beeping of the heart monitor.

"Can I ask you something?" Lucas asked, looking at Peyton.

"You just did," she pointed out. "But go ahead."

"Why are you all wet? You look like you were the one who dived into the river, not me."

"I needed to think things over," she said, looking away from him. "So I stayed at the river court."

"Anything important?"

"Not really," she said, still facing away from him. "Not really."


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own **_**One Tree Hill **_**or any of its characters.**

**Author's Note: I am extremely sorry for the lateness of this chapter and its potential suckiness. A lot of you are probably going to hate me for this chapter, but it's introducing a ton of new plot-lines crucial to this story. Once again, I am sorry for the lateness. I have had a ton of crap to do recently. **

**Author's Note 2: Thank Daughtry, the singer, for giving me the inspiration to write this chapter. I rewrote this chapter 10 billion times before I listened to one of his songs and it just clicked. **

**Author's Note 3: I will try to have another update this weekend.**

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Broken Hearts and Healing Minds

**Chapter 3**

Basketball was just a sport. It was just dribbling a ball on a hardwood court and trying to get it through a hoop. There was nothing magical about the game itself. It was hard work, pain, sweat, tears, fights, battles… there was nothing fairy-tale like about it. It was just a game. And it was rarely an easy, especially the state championship where the Ravens were down by twenty going into the second half. Nathan was on the bench due to injury, Lucas was playing injured though he refused to admit it, Tim was so sick he could barely see through all the coughing and hacking he was doing, Vegas' parents were having issues and he couldn't make it that night, Ross was barely holding it together because he was so angry, and James couldn't shoot to save his life. The Ravens had no seeable hope of winning the state championship.

The buzzer signaled the start of the final half. While the Ravens were losing and tiring, the other team, Pontiac, showed no signs of stopping. They were throwing in their second string players and yet, the Ravens couldn't hold them off.

Lucas, the main player in the game, was holding the ball, trying to decide who to pass it to or if he should pass it. He knew that if he just let go of the mental block he had he would dominate the game, no questions asked. But there was something stopping him. Maybe it had something to do with the two blondes sitting next to each other near the middle of the stands, holding hands and smiling at each other. Maybe it had something to do with the scowls Nathan kept sending the reddish brunette sitting next to the blondes. Or maybe, just maybe, it had something to do with the fact that he was tired, his chest hurt more than it ever had in his life, and they were going to freaking lose the damn game.

Peyton let out a laugh. Somehow, through the midst of all the noise and confusion, that set Lucas off. The sound of her laugh, the way she brushed her beautiful curls away from that perfect face… that ticked him off to no end. The fact that she wasn't laughing at something _he_ had said. The fact that he wasn't with her. The fact… he lost all train of coherent thought in that one instant.

_It had been a week since Lucas had been released from the hospital. Nathan was somewhere in the background, taking a shower and trying to forget about the fact that he wouldn't be playing in next week's state championship because of doctor's strict orders. Lucas had no problem in ignoring the doctor's orders, but then again, he had no girlfriend that worried about him. At least, not anymore. Not since the email Peyton had sent him two nights ago, claiming that she was too confused to make a decision about him and Stephen and for the moment was sticking with Stephen, giving the other guy a chance. The same crap she had been preaching from day one._

_Angrily, Lucas slammed his fist into the couch's cushion. Nathan chose that moment to walk into the living room._

_"What crawled up your ass and died?" he grunted, toweling his short hair dry. He looked about as pissed off as Lucas felt. _

_"What the hell is wrong with you?" Lucas countered._

_"I should be asking you that. You're not the one who can't play in the final game of his high school career," Nathan groused._

_"You're not the one who was officially dumped, forgotten about, and completely insulted in one email," Lucas shot back. He stood up, pacing angrily. He couldn't sit still anymore. He had way too much pent up angry energy. _

_"Ouch," Nathan said, taking up Lucas's former position on the couch. "So I take it Peyton went back on what she said on the river court?"_

_"Yep," Lucas said, feeling as though he were about to start swinging punches. "No other reason other than she just wanted to give Stephen a chance. Can you believe that? She told me that she wanted to give _me_ a chance!"_

_"Luke…" Nathan trailed off uncertainly. Lucas looked over at him, trying his hardest not to glare. It wasn't Nathan's fault that Lucas was in this mess. It was his own damn fault. And Peyton's. Then again, it mostly was Peyton's fault anyway. The fact that Ryan had hated him so much was because Peyton had to get attacked. The reason why Lucas's life was so messed up was because he let Peyton into his life two years ago. _

_"This is so fucked up!" Lucas yelled loudly. He was storming through the door and letting it slam angrily behind him before he was ever conscious of his decision to leave. He came face to face with Haley, who had been standing outside the door, getting ready to come in. _

* * *

Nathan winced as he stretched his taut muscles. The sting of the bullet wound was still there, no matter how faint. He knew that if he had been playing, it would be hurting like hell right about now. He had no idea how Lucas was still playing; he had been just as injured as Nathan.

Then again, Nathan thought, thinking about the first half. Maybe he's hurting more than he's letting on.

Nathan would give anything to play right about now. He knew that the Ravens had no foreseeable chance at winning the state championship, but he really wanted to play, to make up the margin of loss.

The crowd let out a groan as one of the teams scored. Nathan wasn't paying attention, not realizing that the Ravens had scored for the fifth time that night. He was too busy looking at Haley, taking in the way she laughed without a care in the world, as if a week ago she hadn't broken his heart.

_Nathan listened to Lucas storming out, wondering what had happened now to tick his brother off. The sounds of stomping footsteps stopped suddenly, followed by a quick, muttered hello. _

_He listened harder catching the sound of Haley's voice greeting Lucas and Lucas leaving. Ten seconds later, she walked into the living room of the apartment, carrying a large duffel bag. She looked extremely nervous._

_"Hey, Hales," he said, getting off the couch and hugging her. "What's wrong?"_

_"You know how you proposed to me a couple of weeks ago?" she asked, a hint of nerves in her voice. _

_"Yeah," Nathan said, not able to stop himself from getting excited. She was going to say yes, they were going to be together._

_"I thought about it, a lot," she said. "I've done nothing but think about it."_

_"And?" Nathan asked bluntly. He was never one for beating around the bush. _

_"I can't," she said._

_In those two words, his entire world shattered. She gave some reason about wanting to see the world for herself and that she wanted to experience everything in life before she settled down, but Nathan barely heard her. She had said _no_. She didn't want to marry him._

_"Get. Out," he growled, not registering the flash of pain that crossed her face. _

_"Nathan…" she began, but he cut her off._

_"Haley, I can't be around you right now. Just leave," he said, making sure to use her full name and not her nickname. "Please."_

_"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I really am."_

_Then, she left._

Nathan was brought back to the present by the sounds of loud cheering and Whitey yelling at him. He realized that there was a time-out and the Ravens were huddled around him. He glanced at the scoreboard and noticed that in the five minutes he had been out of it, the Ravens had cut into Pontiac's lead. They were still losing by an insane amount, but they were starting the comeback.

"Scott, do you think you can ignore doctor's orders for the next quarter and a half?" Whitey asked.

Nathan's eyes widened.

"Are you serious?" he asked, surprised. It wasn't like Whitey to ignore a doctor's direct order when it came to his players. Usually, he was all for them.

"Do I look like I'm joking?" Whitey demanded. Nathan smirked slightly.

"You look old, coach," he teased. Whitey rolled his eyes.

"Do you want to play or not, Nathan?"

"I'll play," he said.

"Good. Now go out there for Tim. Tim, come in and sit on the bench. You look like you're about to lose it," Whitey ordered. "Everyone else, pass to either Nathan or Lucas. Ravens on three."

As Nathan looked around the circle, he met his brother's eye. Lucas looked extremely determined and pissed off, a look Nathan knew well. It was the same look Lucas got when he tuned out the rest of the world and dominated at basketball. It was the look that was going to win the Ravens the elusive state championship.

* * *

Lucas caught the ball, blinking back the dizziness that accompanied a blinding headache. Everything hurt. His legs hurt, his chest ached, hell, even his hands ached. But he barely noticed as he drove the ball to the basket for what seemed like the billionth time that night. He had lost all track of time, all track of what was happening. All he was aware of was the orange sphere that was keeping him grounded to the earth at that moment.

"Damn it, give me the freaking ball!"

Nathan's yell cut through the haze Lucas had fallen into, but he ignored it. He knew what he was doing and he wasn't going to let anyone stop him. Lucas was just about at the basket when a huge guard came up in front of him.

Lucas feinted left, before ducking right, spinning quickly and making a perfect lay-up, tying the game just as the buzzer rang for the end of the third quarter. Whitey called them all over for a drink of water and a pep talk for the final quarter.

Lucas slowly made his way over to the benches, knowing that he was about to get hell for going to the basket instead of passing the ball to Nathan. It didn't matter if he tied up the game; basketball was a team game and there was no _I_ in team.

"Lucas, what the hell were you thinking?" Nathan demanded the second the elder Scott was in yelling range.

"I was thinking maybe I want to win the state championship," Lucas shot back. "I was thinking I had the better angle for the shot and was going to take it."

"You risked the entire game!" Nathan argued.

"I made the shot, didn't I?" Lucas retorted. "So get over it. If you want to argue fundamentals and playing techniques, I will after I win the damn state championship."

"After _you_ win the state championship?" Nathan echoed angrily. "After _you_ win? What do you think the rest of us are here for, Lucas? Just to stand around and do absolutely nothing?"

"Well, that's kind of what you have been doing!"

"Because you won't pass us the damn ball! You think you're amazing and have to do everything yourself! It's killing us, damn it! We could already have the lead if you'd just pass the damn ball!"

"The last time I passed the ball to you, Nathan, you dropped it and Pontiac scored!"

"Because your throw was way off, Lucas! I can't catch it if you don't throw it to me!"

"GENTLEMEN!" Whitey roared over the crowd and arguing brothers. "If you're done, we have a game to finish! Nathan, get your ass on the bench if you're going to fight with Lucas!"

Lucas and Nathan paid no attention to their coach. They were too busy yelling and glaring at each other. It was only a matter of seconds before punches were thrown.

"You're a selfish bastard! It's no wonder why you don't have a girlfriend anymore!" Nathan yelled, shoving Lucas hard in the chest. The elder Scott stumbled slightly before retaliating.

"And you're a dick who can't keep his mouth shut!" he shouted, making a fist and driving it into Nathan's face. He earned a sucker punch to the nose.

"At least I'm not a worthless wimp who can't do anything for himself!" Nathan taunted, ducking the next punch Lucas threw at him.

"Coach, you either restrain your players or kick them out," one of the referees ordered as the other one attempted to break them up.

Whitey threw his clipboard down on the ground and stomped over to the brothers. The team came after him.

"All right, you two knuckle heads! Break it up! We have a game to finish. Nathan, sit your ass on the bench," he ordered, stepping in between the two brothers.

Lucas barely was able to stop his fist from slamming into Whitey. He wasn't expecting the coach to step in between them. He was hell bent on killing Nathan right about now. What right did the moron have to tell _him_ that he was worthless? He wasn't the one who had his proposal rejected.

"And Lucas, get your ass out on the court! We're here to play a game, not to wrestle with each other. If I wanted to watch guys punch each other, I'd turn on pay-per-view," Whitey ordered.

Lucas glared at Whitey for a moment, wondering what would happen if he just turned around and left.

For an entire second, he considered leaving, but then decided not to. He owed too much to the team and he really wanted to prove to Nathan that he was the better basketball player.

The buzzer rang out, forcing Lucas back on the court. He took up the position as the referee threw the ball up for the tip-off.

* * *

It would be one of the most amazing games in history. The Ravens went from losing by twenty in the first half to completely destroying Pontiac in the fourth quarter. It was the comeback of the decade, one no one else would ever come close to topping. Whitey eventually threw Nathan back in the game just for the heck of it, when the Ravens were up by more than five. They ended up doubling that lead within five minutes, and by the time the game ended, the Ravens won the state championship by twenty-five points. The score was 99-74. The Ravens had finally won the state championship.

As the final whistle blew and the final buzzer rang, the victorious Ravens' crowd flooded the floor while the defeated Pontiac team's crowd left as quickly as they could. It was on the extremely crowded gym floor where Nathan walked up to Lucas and apologized to him.

"Luke, I'm sorry for what I said earlier," he said, shouting to make himself heard over the yelling and laughter of their fellow Ravens. "I didn't mean any of it."

"I'm sorry too," Lucas admitted. "I never meant any of those things. I was just really…"

He trailed off, catching sight of Peyton and Stephen caught in a passionate kiss on the edge of the crowd.

"Luke?" Nathan prompted.

"I- I've got to go," Lucas said, pushing his way past Nathan, heading in the opposite direction of Peyton and Stephen. He couldn't stand to be in the same gym as them any longer. He had to get out of there before he started throwing punches again.

* * *

Nathan thought about what had happened at the state championship as he put the car into park in their parking space of their apartment complex. He hadn't meant to say what he had to Lucas earlier, but somehow, the words just slipped out. Everything he had kept bottled up to spare everyone's feelings just slid out in that moment, accompanied by fists and feet. He knew that Lucas hadn't meant what he had said, either. They were both pissed that the Ravens had been having a tough night, but hopefully that was over now that they won the state championship.

Nathan sighed as he walked up the stairs to his apartment, running a hand through his hair. He was exhausted and his stomach, despite what he told everyone else, hurt like hell. He really wanted to crawl into bed and sleep for the next five months. However, he had a huge pile of homework to get done, and unless he started on it now, he was never going to finish it by Monday.

Nathan unlocked the door and stepped inside, surprised to find it completely dark. The normal eerie glow that came from the numbers of their digital clock was even missing.

"Lucas?" he called, hoping that the elder Scott was home and not off getting drunk somewhere. Not that Lucas would do that, but he had been really messed up when he took off after the game. Nathan could hardly blame him; if it had been him, he would have walked over and socked Stephen. But, Lucas had always been the more rational of the two of them.

"Ow, shit!"

Lucas's gravelly voice came from the hallway near the bedrooms and bathroom. Suddenly, a bright flashlight shone in the hall, illuminating the living room.

"What happened?" Nathan asked, setting his gym bag down on the ground, shielding his eyes with his other hand.

"I ran into a damn wall," Lucas said, tossing Nathan something. He caught it out of sheer reflex; it was a bag of Doritos. "And that was the final notice on the electricity bill, I guess."

"Shit," Nathan said, sighing again. "What are we going to do?"

"I don't know," Lucas admitted. "And that's not all."

"What else?" Nathan asked, feeling slightly nervous by the tone of Lucas's voice. The older Scott sounded worried, anxious, and slightly scared.

"At the hospital, they ran a couple of tests to make sure the HCM medication was doing its job and all," Lucas began, before halting. The yellow flashlight made him look even more haggard than normal. Nathan just noticed how awful his older brother looked.

"Luke, what is it?" he asked, unable to keep the nervousness out of his voice. Whatever Lucas was going to tell him, it wasn't good, especially if it was bad enough that Lucas was telling him in the first place. Lucas always kept things bottled up until someone found out by accident or he nearly died. Both of which were normal occurrences in the Scott apartment, but that was beside the point.

"They told me that my HCM was getting worse," Lucas said, closing his eyes and turning his head away from Nathan. "They told me I have two options; either have six months to live, or have an extremely dangerous surgery and maybe get a year to live."

**

* * *

**

Huge cliffhanger, I know. And I know that I haven't been the best at updating recently, but I'm sorry. I'll try my hardest to get out another chapter soon.

**Read and review, please!! **


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own _One Tree Hill_ or any of its characters.**

**Author's Note: I am so so sorry about the length in between updates. I haven't had any real inspiration on any of this up until recently, and even then, it's been for the later chapters. This chapter is mostly filler and summarizing what has happened in the last couple of chapters. New story lines will be introduced in the next chapter as I begin to move on with this story instead of staying in one place and repeating myself over and over again. **

**Author's Note 2: This chapter is really random. I don't even know where it came from, but it just sort of happened. There's a lot of fighting in this chapter and one touchy feely scene. I'm going to be adding Brooke in a way a lot of you aren't going to like in the next couple of chapters, but by chapter 10, you should all have forgiven me. :) **

**Author's Note 3: I will try to have the next chapter up before Thanksgiving. **

**Broken Hearts and Healing Minds**

**Chapter 4**

The bell rang. Students flooded the hallway with excited chatter about what happened at the game three nights before, how bad they did on their physics test, and how much homework they already had for that night. They were saying hi to their friends and talking about plans for the night. They were ogling Nathan and Lucas Scott, the basketball stars, who were rumored to have broken up with their girlfriends. They were talking about newcomer Stephen Burns, who apparently had started dating Lucas Scott's ex, Peyton Sawyer, and how the other newcomer, Brooke Davis, who was Haley's cousin, was pregnant.

The second bell rang. The chatter died down as the last of the people ran to their classes, trying not to be late. The third bell rang and the entire school went deathly quiet.

There were six people still in the hallway. Their names were Lucas Scott, Nathan Scott, Haley James, Peyton Sawyer, Brooke Davis, and Stephen Burns. They were standing in the same intersection of the main hallway near the front office, staring at each other. Lucas was standing next to Nathan in the north part of the hallway; Haley with Peyton in the south; and Stephen with Brooke in the west.

"…you're from Chicago? That is so cool! I've always wanted to visit Chicago," Brooke was saying to Stephen.

"This is going to get very bad, very fast," Peyton muttered to Haley, who was staring longingly at Nathan.

"I should have stayed at home," Nathan muttered to Lucas, who was staring at Brooke and Stephen with a look of confusion etched on his face.

"Hi," Stephen said when Brooke stopped talking to stare at Lucas and Nathan. "How's it going? Good job at Friday night's game. It was definitely intense."

He was being polite and speaking directly to Lucas and Nathan, but everyone could see the tension that was running through the six of them. Lucas had a look of one who wanted to punch something, Nathan was glaring, Peyton was shifting her gaze from Stephen to Lucas and back again, Haley was staring nervously at the ground, and Brooke was trying to figure out what the hell was going on.

"I can't do this," Lucas growled to Nathan, while glaring at Stephen. "I'm going to the river court."

He started walking back the way he'd come. Nathan looked puzzled, but didn't say anything.

"I think I've had enough of this too," Brooke told Stephen, smiling impossibly sweet at him. "Thanks for being my tour guide. I can take it from here, thanks.'

Stephen nodded towards her as she took the empty hallway and headed towards the back exit of the school.

"I'm leaving as well," Nathan announced, before turning and walking the same way Lucas had.

It left Haley, Peyton, and Stephen by themselves in the middle of the hallway. Haley muttered something about getting to class before going to complete opposite direction of where she needed to be going.

"And then there were two," Stephen said, offering a small smile to Peyton. Peyton returned it hesitantly.

"I need to get to class," she said, before turning and walking off without further conversation to her boyfriend.

"And then there was one," he said to himself as he stood alone in the middle of the hallway. "And he is very, very confused about what just happened."

* * *

Lucas dropped his book bag on the ground and sat down on one of the wooden picnic tables, staring out at the river. He hadn't done this over the past couple of weeks; the memory of being underneath the strong, pulsing waters was too strong. But the safety and peacefulness he felt here was much stronger, especially on days like today when the world became too much for him.

Seeing Peyton in the hallway and then Stephen trying to be polite had been too much. The guy was nice and Lucas couldn't stand it. He wouldn't have minded Peyton dating him so much if Stephen had been a jerk. But Stephen was nice, smart, funny, athletic… hell; Lucas would date him if Lucas were a girl.

Then there was the issue of his HCM. Nathan had become suffocating over the past three days since Lucas had told him about it. He kept pushing the surgery, which Lucas knew in a million years could never happen. They didn't have the money for it, and even if they did, he wouldn't do it. There was only a thirty percent chance of survival through it and he wasn't going to die on an operating table. He was going to live out his last days peacefully, or as peacefully as he could.

Lucas sighed and stared listlessly out at the rushing water, trying to remember when exactly his life had gotten so messed up. Had it really only been three years ago when his mother was still alive and Haley was his only friend? It felt like decades ago. He knew he wasn't the same person he had been back then. He didn't even recognize himself anymore.

* * *

Haley found Lucas still sitting on the picnic bench, in the exact same pose, three hours later. He had his head propped in his hands and he didn't seem to notice her presence.

She walked over and sat beside him, putting a gentle hand on his shoulder. He blinked and turned to face her. His eyebrows arched in surprise.

"I was expecting Nathan," he admitted. "He's taken to being a mother hen over me lately. It's kind of depressing how little control I have in my life anymore."

"I figured you might need a friend," Haley said, crossing her arms over her chest. "I know I do."

Lucas smiled sadly, before looking away again. There seemed to be something about the river that drew his attention to it. Haley wondered what that was.

"You know, Hales, you had a chance to have it all with Nathan," he said, still not looking at her. "And you said no."

"I'm not ready to settle down," Haley said, instantly getting defensive. "There's so much out there that I want to see. So much I want to do! It's not a matter of whether I love Nathan or not, because I love him more then anything in the world, I'm just not ready to be married. I'm not even out of high school yet!"

"I know that, Hales," Lucas said softly, turning to face her. "Trust me, I get it. But one day, you're going to have to stop being so scared."

"I'm not scared," Haley said boldly. Puzzled, she added, "Are you?"

"I'm terrified," Lucas said quietly. "Of losing what little I have left."

Haley sat there, trying to figure out what he was saying. She couldn't think of anything.

"Luke?" she prompted gently after a moment's pause. "Is everything okay?"

Lucas shook his head and let out a sad chuckle.

"Not really," he said softly. Haley was shocked to see a tear run down his face. Without really thinking, she wrapped an arm around his shoulders. He didn't pull away; he leaned into the contact and rested his head on her shoulder.

"What's wrong?" she asked sensitively, thinking back to all the times they had done this when they were kids and Lucas needed a friend.

He sighed heavily.

"When did we get so old, Haley? When did we stop being the kids that didn't have a care in the world? When did life get so hard?" he whispered. "When did the people we love stop loving us back?"

"I don't know," Haley murmured. He needed a parent; he needed his mother. She had no idea of how to handle his depression and it hurt her to see him like this. "I truly don't know."

* * *

Nathan flipped listlessly through the unopened stack of mail that seemed to be intent on becoming the next Mount Everest that lay on their table. He was waiting for Lucas to return home so he could go grab some pizza and beer.

The last three days had been especially hard on Nathan. Learning that Lucas only had six months to live because they didn't have the money to afford the surgery really hit him hard. He had just gotten to really know his brother over the past two years and didn't want to give that up. And Lucas… the guy had had enough hardships in his life without the added one of having a death sentence looming over him.

A knock at the apartment door made him look up. He knew Lucas wouldn't knock and he didn't know of anyone else that was coming by that day.

"Nathan? Can you let me in? It's Peyton. I need to talk to you," came the call a minute later.

Nathan debated whether or not letting her in. He really didn't want to talk to her at the moment; he was too pissed off at her. It wasn't just because of what she did to his brother; he had gotten over that. It was that she continued flaunting it around school and around Lucas that she was going out with someone else and didn't seem to give a damn about it that really made him mad.

"I know you're in there, Nathan. Open the damn door or I'm knocking it down," Peyton threatened.

Nathan sighed before getting off the stool he was sitting on and going to the door. He slowly undid the latch before opening the door.

"What do you want?" he demanded, not even bothering to be polite.

"You know, I've met vicious killers nicer than you," Peyton said, welcoming herself in the house. She followed Nathan into the kitchen.

"What do you want?" Nathan asked again, hoping that she would leave quickly so he could go back to his pity party.

"Last time I checked," Peyton said, sitting down at one of the stools. "We're still friends. And I'm still allowed to check to see if you're okay."

"I'm fine," Nathan said, going to the cabinets and looking for something to eat. It was obvious Lucas wasn't going to be home anytime soon and he wouldn't be able to go out for pizza seeing as he didn't have any money of his own. "Can you leave now?"

"Why the hell are you so mad at me?" she demanded. "I come over to make sure you're okay and you sit there and bite my head off!"

"Peyton, if you can't figure that out, then you're dumber then even I thought you were," Nathan said nastily. "And I'm fine. I don't need your concern."

"Damn it, Nathan, I know you're not okay!" Peyton yelled. "You were shot, for god's sake! I'm sorry if my concern for you is so wrong! I guess I'll just leave."

With that, she spun around and took two steps towards the door before Nathan stopped her.

"Peyton," he said. She stopped and turned to glare at him. "I'm not going to apologize; you are being such an ass to Lucas right now it's not even funny. And then you just show up here and expect to be forgiven? It doesn't work that way. You need to grow up and accept the fact that what you've done has hurt more than just your ego."

"You don't think I don't know that?" Peyton asked, shocked. Nathan merely rolled his eyes.

"You have a hell of a way of showing you care about people," he said. "Telling them you love them one minute and then emailing them to tell them you were stringing them along all the while is low, even for a backstabbing two-faced bitch."

"And completely cutting someone out of your life just because they told you that they weren't ready to get married while they were still in high school is so mature!" Peyton said, her tone matching his easily.

They glared at each other, neither giving each other an inch. At that moment, the front door opened yet again and Lucas and Haley walked into the kitchen, stopping dead at the entrance and staring at the two people in the kitchen while they stared back.

"I have got to stop walking in at the wrong moments," Haley muttered. "Honestly, people are going to start thinking I'm insane."

Lucas didn't acknowledge what Haley said. He was too busy staring at Peyton with what one could only describe as longing in his eyes. Nathan felt slightly uncomfortable the longer it lasted.

"I'm going on a walk," Lucas finally said. He turned around and walked out of the house before anyone could say anything else.

"I need to get home, do some homework, that sort of thing," Peyton said, before quickly exiting the house.

Haley looked shyly at Nathan and shifted uncomfortably. Nathan felt the anger that had been building inside of him finally reach a breaking point.

"What do you want?" he demanded, slamming the cabinet he had been looking in with such force that Haley flinched.

"To say I'm sorry," she said softly. Nathan looked at her in shocked disbelief.

"You're sorry?" he echoed. He let out a dark laugh that really didn't suit him. "That's rich, coming from you. 'Oh, I'm sorry Nathan, I didn't mean to say I didn't love you, but I really don't'."

"I do love you!" Haley exclaimed angrily. "I love you so much! That's why I'm here! I love you, you idiot! I just can't marry you right now!"

"Why the hell not?" he demanded. "Because you want to see the world? Because you want to go to college and live your life?"

"Yes! That's exactly what I want! It has nothing to do with me loving you, because I love you more than I have ever loved anyone in my entire life!"

"Did you ever think, just for a moment, that I want to live my life and go to college as well? That I have dreams of my own?"

"Of course I did! That's why I think it's best we don't get married! We're in high school Nathan! We aren't ready. I'm not ready."

Nathan was quiet for a moment.

"Whatever," he said bitterly. "Whatever your reasons are, keep them. If you don't want to get married, fine. But don't expect me to wait for you."

"Nathan," she said softly, reaching out to him. He ignored her.

"Get out," he said. "Get out of my apartment, out of my life, out of my heart. I can't be with you anymore."

* * *

Peyton jogged to catch up to Lucas. She really wanted to talk to him, to tell him the reasoning behind staying with Stephen instead of with him, but he didn't seem to want to talk to her.

"Luke!"

Lucas stopped suddenly and spun around to face her. She nearly ran into him.

"What do you want, Peyton? Isn't enough that you broke my heart? Do you really have to stomp on it and shred it into a million pieces as well?" he demanded angrily.

"No! I don't!" Peyton protested.

"Then why are you still here?" he demanded. "Why are you still chasing after me? You've made it more than clear you really don't want to be with me, so why the hell are you still here? Huh? My being absolutely miserable isn't enough for you? Me feeling like I've been stabbed by a billion knives every time I see his arms around you isn't enough for you? You want to actually finish Ryan's job of killing me?"

"No, you idiot!"

"Then why the hell are you still here?"

"Because I'm in love with you! I can't be around Stephen anymore because every time I am, I think of how much I miss you! How much I want it to be you kissing me, holding me when I have a nightmare, or when I just need someone to talk to! I want it to be you, but I can't have you!"

"I'm here! I'm single! I sure as hell still love you! So why the hell can't you be with me?"

"Because you're sweet, caring, loving, way too forgiving, and absolutely right about everything! You're intelligent, athletic, and down right amazing! You have so much crap going on you make my life look like it's normal, and yet you don't care! You're always trying to protect me in a way that I can't help but love you! Even when you should be pissed as hell at me, you're still there for me! Even when I treat you like absolute shit you still try to protect me! I love you! But you can't love me."

"I do, Peyton," Lucas said, his voice breaking. "I love you so much it hurts. And you can have me. I don't really care how much you mess up. I just want you."

"But you can't!" Peyton insisted. "You can't love me. I don't deserve it."

"But I do," Lucas said. "I can't help but love you. Even when I told you I couldn't, I still did. I love you, Peyton."

"I love you, too," she whispered.

Lucas took a step forward and wrapped his arms around her waist. Without even thinking of the consequences or who could see them, he pressed his lips to hers in a gentle, sweet, passionate kiss. Peyton kissed him back without hesitation.

When they broke away, tears were visible in both of their eyes.

"I love you, Peyton," he whispered.

"I love you, too, Lucas," she whispered back, kissing him again. She pulled away more quickly this time. "But I can't be with you. I'm sorry."

With that, she turned and walked away, leaving a broken hearted mess in her wake.

* * *

**Read and review!!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own **_**One Tree Hill **_**or any of its characters.**

**Author's Note: Hope you all are a little more happy with this chapter. I'm semi-introducing a new character that will have a minor part to play in the Nathan/Haley aspect. And I'm thinking of killing off Stephen… he's getting on even my nerves and he's my character. How sad is that?**

**Author's Note 2: I'm going to add one more quick chapter before my major chapter of the first part of the story and it will hopefully be updated soon. I'm going to be updating mainly on weekends from here on out along with my other story, **_**The War To End All Wars**_**. **

**Author's Note 3: I'm kind of fond of this chapter. I think it finally broke my writers block… so celebrate and review!! I will hopefully have more chapters up sooner after this one. **

**Author's Note 4: This story is seemingly plotless for now… but it will get there. I promise. I'm kind of using ideas that all of you suggested from the last story and then adding my own twist to them.**

**Author's Note 5: This chapter is a filler, but it's possibly the best filler I have ever written. **

* * *

**Broken Hearts and Healing Minds**

**Chapter 5 **

Lucas stormed into the empty apartment, letting the door slam shut behind him. He didn't even other pausing to think as he whirled around and slammed his fist into the empty wall behind the door. He barely felt the skin on his knuckles split apart, or the breaking of the bone as he slammed his fist into the wall as hard as he could a second time. The third time he did it, he felt it.

"Damn it!" he yelled, cradling his now injured hand with his good one. "Shit! Fuck! Damn it!"

He went on cursing to himself as he headed towards the kitchen to find a bag of ice to put on his broken hand.

* * *

Nathan stormed into the apartment, letting the door slam shut behind him. He didn't notice the fist sized shape in the plaster as he stomped through the apartment to his room, nor did he notice the blasting music coming from Lucas's room, accompanied by the low cursing. He slammed the door to his bedroom, rattling the pictures on the hallway wall as he did so. He threw himself on his bed and punched his pillow.

"Damn it!" he growled, punching his pillow again. It did nothing to relieve his anger. He got off the bed and started pacing. "How could she? I hate her! I hate her so much! She is such a bitch!"

* * *

Haley stomped into the house, letting the door slam shut behind her. She didn't even think as she saw Peyton sitting on the couch, watching TV. She stormed up to her friend, drew her fist back and punched Peyton as hard as she could in the face.

* * *

Brooke stomped into the house, letting the door stay open behind her. She didn't even think as she saw Haley glaring at Peyton, who was cradling her nose and glaring back at Haley. She brought her hand back and slapped Haley as hard as she could across the face.

"Are you fucking crazy?" she screamed.

**

* * *

**

Three hours earlier

Prom was in less than a week. It was the only thing people seemed to want to talk about. Who was going with whom? What dresses were people going to wear? Where were they going for dinner?

The only people not impressed by the chatter were Nathan and Lucas, who were both currently single and had a million and one girls chasing after them. They were planning on not going to prom at all, seeing as both their exes were going and they wanted to avoid them as much as possible.

Lucas was glaring stonily at the prom poster that was hung just above his locker. He didn't want to even think about who he should have been going with. She didn't seem to give a damn about him, so why should he think about her?

Nathan was standing next to him, glaring at Haley, who was chatting to another guy across the hallway from them. She was obviously flirting with him; Nathan could tell that by the way she casually flicked her hair across one shoulder and laughed a girly giggle. The guy seemed to be very interested in Haley. Nathan wondered who the guy was.

While Lucas was glaring at the poster and Nathan was glaring at Haley, they both failed to notice a certain brunette walk up to them.

"Hey guys," Brooke said cheerfully, causing both Nathan and Lucas to jump.

"Oh, hey Brooke," Lucas said, blinking and making an effort to smile. He failed miserably; it came out more as a grimace. "What's up?"

"I was wondering if one of you guys would like to go to prom with me?" she asked in a rush. Both Lucas and Nathan stared at her blankly. "Oh, come on! You can't seriously tell me you weren't planning on going! It's your senior year, your last chance! And I know for a fact neither of you have dates. So, would one of you like to be mine? I really would like to go, but none of the other guys want to go with the knocked up girl… so I figured I'd ask one of you instead."

Nathan shrugged listlessly, before going back to glaring at Haley, who was oblivious to the dark looks that her ex was giving her.

"I'll go," Lucas said with a shrug. Looking at Nathan, he added, "But only if you go, Nate."

Nathan turned back to him, a look of surprise crossing his face.

"I am _not_ going to prom," he growled, shooting another glare at Haley. Brooke looked over and her eyes widened in shock. "Not if she's going with _him_."

"That's Tyler Morrison," Brooke said. "He's the hottest guy in school, outside of you two, of course. He's also a first class jerk, a lousy kisser, has no personality at all, and is an amazing baseball player."

"I hate baseball," Lucas said, glaring as Peyton and Stephen walked by, their arms looped. Haley looked up at that moment and her eyes narrowed. She didn't notice Brooke and Nathan glaring at her as she watched Stephen and Peyton walk down the hallway towards their next class. The second that Stephen and Peyton were gone, she went back to chatting with Tyler.

"How do you know so much about Tyler?" Nathan asked, looking at Brooke curiously as Lucas continued to stare longingly after Peyton and Stephen.

Brooke glanced at Lucas for a moment, a sad smile crossing her features, which turned into a sly one as she looked at Nathan.

"Come to prom with me and maybe I'll tell you," she said. The warning bell rang. "I've got to get to English! Call me!"

She flitted off before Lucas or Nathan could say anything else. Lucas was still staring after Peyton, who had long since disappeared. Nathan sighed.

"She's gone, you know," he said. Lucas looked at him, dazed for a moment. He blinked once and his expression cleared.

"I know," he said, casting a swift glance at Haley. "But she's not. You could always have her, you know. You just have to forgive and forget."

"You're one to talk," Nathan scoffed. "You didn't forgive Peyton."

They started walking towards their next class. Lucas's was a study hall while Nathan's was Calculus.

"And looked where I ended up with that," Lucas said, pointing towards where Peyton and Stephen were now hugging each other outside of Peyton's classroom. "Nate, if you want Haley back, all you have to do is ask."

"Who said I wanted Haley back?" Nathan countered. Lucas raised an eyebrow questioningly. Nathan sighed. "It's not that I don't love Haley, because I do, but I've been with her for so long. I don't know, maybe she was right after all. There still is so much out there, so many people to see. Maybe she was right in saying no."

Lucas let out a laugh.

"Don't you hate it when she does that?" he asked, smirking. They were right outside Nathan's classroom.

"You have no idea," Nathan said. He sighed again. "You want to do a movie tonight? _Texas Chainsaw Massacre_ is on the horror channel."

"Sounds good," Lucas said. "And think about Brooke's offer!"

With that, the turned and walked towards his class, getting there right as the late bell rang.

* * *

Lucas hated study hall. It was the most useless class he had ever had. The only reason why he was in it was because his doctor had called his guidance counselor and told the lady that Lucas's heart condition had grown extremely serious and that he shouldn't be doing gym class. Sure, the guy was right, but Lucas couldn't but feel he could be doing something more productive other than sitting there, staring at a wall, and thinking about Peyton and Stephen.

Stephen. Another reason why he absolutely hated study hall. It was the only class he had with the baseball all-star, and it was the only class where Lucas wasn't allowed to sit by himself at his own table in the back of class, away from everyone else. No, he had to sit next to Stephen. It had been the only seat still available. Of course. And just sitting next to Stephen, watching the guy work, was adding another reason to the already extensive list as to why Lucas hated Stephen so much. The guy was _smart_. He had straight A's, as far as Lucas could tell from all the papers the jerk laid on the table every single class. Then, he would proceed to actually do his homework for his A-fucking-P classes. In class. Like he was supposed to do. And when he finished the homework, he would sit there and write love notes to Peyton. In front of Lucas. It was sickening.

Today was particularly bad for Lucas. It might have had something to do with the fact that he was nervous about his doctor's appointment that afternoon to determine what he should do about his heart, or something along the lines of the fact that UNC was resending their scholarship offer to him because he had missed too many days of school that school year, not taking in the fact that Lucas had been injured for almost all of those and the rest he was taking care of family. Nope, apparently, snooty colleges wanted money if you were going to miss school for minor things like near-fatal injuries. And being forced to sit through study hall, with all of his homework for all his classes already done, per usual, and watch Stephen text illegally through class was just beginning to strike his last nerve.

The teacher, of course, was completely oblivious to what Stephen was doing. All the teachers were. Everyone loved Stephen. Stephen could do no wrong. Stephen was the perfect child that everyone liked while Lucas was thrown aside like a piece of dirty laundry. Even if Lucas spoke up and told people what Stephen was doing, they would chalk it up to his being jealous and never believe him in a million years.

After about the fourth annoying _buzz_ coming from the _Verizon Chocolate_ in Stephen's pocket, Lucas was finally fed up with it.

"Can you at least turn it to silent?" he snapped quietly. Stephen looked at him, a look of shock and innocence on his face that would hide his underlying smirk to everyone except Lucas, who had a gift in reading expressions.

"Is it bothering you? I didn't realize," he said, reaching into his pocket and hitting some buttons on his cell phone. He smiled softly, a smile Lucas himself had given many times when he had received something from Peyton.

"Cut the crap, okay? I can see right through it," Lucas whispered. Stephen looked at him again, the innocence and shock falling away.

"It sounds to me as though someone is jealous," he said, his voice a whisper as well. "You had your chance with Peyton. Now back off and let me have mine."

"Or you'll do what?" Lucas asked, curling his fingers into a fist. His fist was definitely more impressive than Stephen's.

"Just back off," Stephen said, his voice a growl.

Lucas smirked when he didn't get a straight answer. Stephen was scared of him, actually frightened of what he would do.

"Let me let you in on a little secret," he said, leaning closer to Stephen. Stephen leaned away, a flash of fear briefly crossing his face. "Peyton is in love with me. She always has been, always will be. You are just merely a distraction. She will never love you. And if you do anything to hurt her, you will be in a pine box so fast that you won't even know what hit you."

"It looks like you and Ryan are related after all," Stephen retorted. Lucas glared at him.

"I'm only protective of those I love," he shot back.

"You do a crappy job of showing someone you love them," Stephen pointed out.

"I'm human," Lucas snapped. "I'm bound to make mistakes."

"Mr. Scott, that's a detention. There is a no talking policy in my class. Please leave all your family affairs at the door," Mrs. Coney, the ancient woman who oversaw study hall, droned. "Please go to the principal's office now to schedule your detention. You may take your things."

Throwing one last glare at Stephen, Lucas picked up his books and stormed out of the classroom.

* * *

Peyton stared in shock at the letter grade that was on the test in front of her. There was no way she had scored that low of a grade on a Calculus test. There was just no possible way she had gotten a sixty!

Beside her, Haley was writing something on a blank sheet of notebook paper, not even bothering to look at her test. _Why should she have to?_ Peyton thought darkly. _She gets perfects on everything._

As if sensing her friend's thoughts, Haley looked up at Peyton, smiled sympathetically as she noticed the test grade, and went back to writing. Ten seconds later, a note plopped on Peyton's desk. It was from Haley.

_Hey, Sawyer. Guess who asked me to prom? You'll never believe it—it was Tyler Morrison! Isn't that amazing? I can hardly wait! We __have__ to go dress shopping tomorrow night. _

_Ouch, I'm sorry about your test grade. You want some help? This section isn't as hard as it seems. When you're doing your homework tonight, just ask if you need some help. I'll gladly give it to you. _

_Oh, and did you hear about Brooke? She asked both Nathan and Lucas to prom. Can you believe that? Is she really that desperate? God… my cousin's so annoying!_

_What is Stephen texting you about? Anything juicy? Hah, just kidding, unless it was something good. _

_Write me back!!_

Peyton looked over at Haley, who was now looking at her Calculus book with a look of intense interest. She was copying down her homework and actually making a stab at some of the problems. _Interesting,_ Peyton thought.

She lazily got out a pencil when her phone buzzed. Making sure that no one was looking, she pulled out her cell phone and looked at the message. She could hardly contain a laugh; it came out as a strangled chuckle. Several people, Haley included, shot her a strange look.

Quickly scribbling down what Stephen had told her about Lucas, she threw the note back onto Haley's desk, silently shaking with laughter. She could hardly believe that Lucas had gotten a detention because he was _jealous_ of Stephen! How messed up was that?

She looked at Haley, expecting a laugh or something. Instead, she got a glare and the finger. Haley. Gave Peyton the finger. Haley.

The teacher, Ms. Crum, had chosen that minute to look up. She gasped in shock as she saw her star pupil giving someone the finger.

"Ms. James! Go to the office right this instant!" she exclaimed. "That's a detention for you!"

Peyton received one more glare from Haley before the shorter girl grabbed up all her books and stormed out of the classroom. Peyton rolled her eyes at Haley behind her back.

"Ms. Sawyer, that's a detention for you!" Ms. Crum called. Peyton sighed, picking up her books and walking quietly out of the door that Haley had just stormed out of.

* * *

Brooke sat next to Nathan and behind all the gossipers in their LD Calculus class. Or at least, that's what she called the Calculus class they were in. No one except for them seemed to understand the meaning of pi, let alone any of the problems they were supposed to be solving.

She had finished her homework long before the class ended and she was now listening to the latest gossip. Apparently, Tyler Morrison had asked someone to prom. Brooke was now trying to figure out who it was.

"I heard it was a girl named Haley," Theresa, one of the cheerleaders, whispered to Bevin, another cheerleader. "Haley James. You know, Nathan's ex."

"That's impossible," Bevin said. "Nate and Haley were like the cutest couple ever. Why would the break up?"

"I have no idea," Theresa said impatiently as Brooke froze and shot a nervous glance towards Nathan, who was staring in shock at an unsuspecting Theresa. "But that's what I heard from Jessica, Tyler's best friend's sister's best friend's boyfriend's lesbian sister's girlfriend."

"Wow," Bevin said, amazed.

Brooke couldn't help herself. She slammed her Calculus book shut, crumpled up her homework, and tossed it as hard as she could at Theresa.

"Brooke, go to the office," Mr. King, their Calculus teacher said. "You too, Scott. You're both assigned detention."

Apparently, Nathan had chucked a pencil at Bevin.

Brooke and Nathan both picked up their books, glared at the rest of the class, and stormed out.

* * *

Lucas was the first to arrive at the office, followed quickly by Nathan, Brooke, and Haley. Peyton was the last to arrive, looking nervous and hesitant as she spotted Lucas.

"What did you do?" Nathan asked, ignoring Haley completely. Brooke hovered nearby, not looking at Haley or Peyton.

"I kind of yelled at Stephen in study hall," Lucas said, smirking in response to Nathan's grin. "Apparently, the old witch has a no talking policy."

"Looks like you deserved what you got," Peyton muttered from the doorway. "You had no right to threaten Stephen."

"Do you hear something?" Lucas asked airily to Nathan, not looking at Peyton. "I think I hear the birds singing."

Peyton had tears in her eyes as Principal Turner called Lucas into the office to assign his detention. Haley glared at the blonde while Brooke merely glared at Haley. Nathan was too busy ignoring the looks as he studied the plaques on the wall of past principals.

Lucas stormed out of the office five minutes later, a pissed off look on his face. He didn't bother stopping to tell Nathan what had happened as he stomped through the door and let the glass panels slam shut behind him.

It was Peyton's turn next. She was in and out of there faster than Lucas was; this was her first detention. She barely glanced at any of the others as she walked quietly out the door, clutching her book bag close to her. She already had her cell phone out and was texting someone, presumably Stephen, with her free hand.

It was Nathan's turn after Peyton's. His hands shook ever so slightly as he got off the uncomfortable wooden chair he had been sitting in and walked towards the principal's office. It wasn't as though this was his first detention; it was more like his third or fourth this school year; it was the strong reaction Lucas had given to getting a detention that made him slightly wary of entering the office. He had rarely seen Lucas that angry; except when he had broken the basketball goal at the river court or someone had hurt Peyton. But other than that, Lucas usually was pretty quiet; he wondered what Principal Turner had done now.

Principal Turner was shaking his head and sighing as Nathan took a seat at the desk. The older man turned to Nathan, a look of depression on his face.

"Never have I had so many students in for detention at the same time," he said, shaking his head again. "And they're all really good students. So, Nathan, what are you in for this time?"

Nathan smirked ever so slightly at the '_this time_' added on to the question.

"I threw a pencil at Theresa and Bevin when Ms. Crum was looking," he said, staring blankly at the wall behind Principal Turner. "I know it was wrong, and I'm sorry. When should I serve my detention?"

"Mr. Scott, I'm afraid to tell you that since this is your fifth detention, you have received a one week out of school suspension, along with all your friends and brother out there in the lobby."

Nathan stared at Principal Turner in shock, not quite willing to believe what the older man had just said. It was only when the slip of paper was handed to him and he was forced out of the door did it fully register. He had been suspended. For a week. What the hell?

**

* * *

**

Present

Lucas emerged from his room an hour later, his hand swollen to the size of a softball, even with the ice pack wrapped around it. His knuckles were still bleeding, which led Lucas to believe he not only broke three of his knuckles, but also had managed to use the bone to split the skin. He knew he should go to a doctor; but he didn't really want to. They were just going to tell him that he broke it, they were going to wrap it, and then they were going to charge him an insane amount of money for doing so. Then, they were going to recommend him for the heart surgery that he could never in a million years afford or do, even if he had that long to live. So, Lucas decided to just avoid the doctor's office altogether, consequences be damned.

* * *

Nathan emerged from his room when he heard Lucas come out of his room. He decided that moping because he got a suspension for an hour was long enough; it was time to face the real world.

The real world, however, consisted of an older brother who was so pissed off that he wasn't talking to anything except the wall, which apparently he had driven his fist through; a highly annoyed neighbor that was threatening to call the landlord to kick them out, and a phone call from Brooke wondering if they were going to go to prom with her and that she wanted to kill both Peyton and Haley. In other words, he should have just stayed in bed.

* * *

Haley whirled around and smashed her fist into Brooke's cheek, ignoring the shocked gasp from her former friend.

"I trusted you two," she said, shaking her now aching hand. She spoke quietly and angrily, not even bothering trying to hide the tears that were sliding down her face. "I trusted you two. And what do I get? My cousin trying to steal Nathan away from me and my former best friend trying to turn me against my other best friend. I can't believe you two."

"We aren't so fond of you either, Hales," Peyton said coldly. Brooke glared at Peyton before glaring at Haley and then shifting her glare back again.

"I'm so pissed off at both of you right now that it's not even funny," she said, her voice dripping with venom. "The fact that you both have the nerve to act all self righteous when the boys' hearts you broke are trying to wonder where _they_ fucked up, when it was really you two! I can't believe you!"

"And you are so perfect, Brooke Davis?" Peyton spat. It was Haley's turn to glare between her former friends.

"At least I know when to admit I've done something wrong," Brooke growled. "I'm mature enough to own up to the mistakes I've made and I've paid for them. I'm still paying for them. But you two need to grow up and face the facts that what you're doing is hurting people and you don't seem to care! Grow up and accept the fact that you can't have it all. You have to make a choice."

Without waiting for an answer, Brooke whirled around and stormed out of the house, leaving an injured Haley and Peyton in her wake.

* * *

**I think my new favorite phrase ever is consequences be damned... in case you haven't noticed. **

**Read and review... I know this chapter wasn't my best, but I personally enjoyed writing it. **

**~Scott Winchester 22 3 **


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own **_**One Tree Hill **_**or any of its characters. **

**Author's Note: This has got to be the fastest I have ever updated this story. I hope you all like this update.**

**Author's Note 2: I have no idea where the hell this idea came from for this chapter… I was actually writing it more as a Brucas chapter, but some how, this ended up taking its place. It's pretty confusing, especially at the end, but I think it works. It is definitely longer then the last couple of updates, and hopefully better, though I think the last chapter was more enjoyable. **

**Author's Note 3: I've been toying with the idea of adding Dan back into the story a lot and somehow, he worked himself into this chapter. I think I got his character (which I was basing off of the season 4 version of himself) correct. **

**Author's Note 4: I added a special twist to this chapter, one I don't think any of you were expecting… except maybe of those who do nothing but think of ways this story could happen. I have no idea if I'm going to follow through on this idea, but as it stands right now, it could make things very, very dramatic for the rest of the story. Let me know what you guys think. **

**Author's Note 5: This chapter got a little more emotional then I intended, so you might need a hankie at one part in this. Also… prom couples have officially been decided and will be revealed in the next chapter.**

**Author's Note 6: The next couple of chapters came sooner than I intended, but will have a lot of action, a lot of drama, and a lot of angst. Also, you will see how I intend for the couples to work out. Hopefully, you all will approve. I personally think so.**

* * *

**One Tree Hill**

"_**Broken Hearts and Healing Minds**_**"**

**Chapter 6**

Lucas wrapped the icepack tighter around his injured hand as he tapped in his password for his laptop and waited for it to load. The mangled hand had finally stopped bleeding, but it had swollen to the size of a small basketball and it had turned a beautiful shade of mottled purple and dark blue.

The computer beeped that it had a low battery seconds before it went dead. Lucas swore, checking the power cord it was hooked up to and found that the wires were frayed. That was the last thing he needed; to buy a new power cord on their already depleted funds.

A soft knock at the door made Lucas forget about his troubles with his damned computer for a moment. Wondering who it was, he slipped off of his bed and headed towards the door, noting that Nathan had finally cut the head splitting rap music he had been blaring for the past three hours straight.

Lucas pulled open the door and was surprised to find Dan Scott standing in the doorway, a grim look on his face.

"We need to talk," the older man said. "In private; it's important."

* * *

Haley was just finishing up her Calculus homework for the week when a shy knock sounded at her motel room door. She had started renting the room when Nathan had broken up with her and she was too mad at Peyton to actually stay with the girl.

She set down her pencil and glanced nervously at the door. She hadn't actually told anyone aside from Brooke where she was staying and Haley highly doubted her cousin would be stopping by, unless it was for round two of what had happened at Peyton's house.

Haley got off her bed and walked to the door. She opened it carefully and was surprised to find Tyler Morrison standing on the other side of it, a bouquet of tulips in one hand and the other poised to knock again.

"Hi, Haley," he said, a smile spreading across his handsome face. Haley couldn't help but smile in return. "Would you like to go to dinner with me tonight?"

* * *

Peyton added one last song to the CD before hitting _burn_. The computer hummed to life as it worked to add all the songs to the disc. She sat back and sighed, picking up an old photograph that was sticking out of the corner of the book she was reading. It was of her and Lucas, back before all the crap with Ryan had happened. They were standing at the river court and night was falling. The entire scene was bathed in a pale orange glow. Lucas had been attempting to teach Peyton how to shoot a basketball, but Peyton had been more interested in where Lucas's hands kept ending up. They had both given up on basketball and had just started making out when Nathan had snapped the photo. It had been one of the happiest days of Peyton's depressing life.

A knock on her bedroom door made her look up. Nathan was leaning against the doorway, his arms crossed across his chest and his face masked by an unreadable expression.

"Can I talk to you?" he asked softly. "I need to talk to someone and Lucas wasn't there and I just really need to talk to someone. I know we haven't really talked to each other recently, but can I?"

Peyton pointed to the bed and motioned for him to sit down.

* * *

Brooke climbed out of the shower and pulled on her favorite pair of loose sweatpants and an old t-shirt that was ratty, full of holes, and way too big on her. She put a hand unconsciously on her growing stomach and sighed.

A knock coming from the apartment door made her look up. Barely anyone knew where she lived; she kept it that way on purpose to keep her parents from finding her. They thought she was in boarding school in California at the moment.

Going to the door and pulling it open, she was surprised to find Stephen Burns, Peyton's boyfriend, standing there, looking lost and confused.

"Can I talk to you?" he asked.

* * *

Lucas crossed his arms as he faced Dan. He ignored the throbbing pain his injured hand gave him. They were at the river court; Dan had let Lucas choose the destination to talk. Night was beginning to fall, bringing with it a sharp, cold breeze that tore through Lucas's thin sweatshirt and jeans.

Dan just stood there, staring at the river that was sweeping by. Lucas waited quietly for the conversation to start, staring at the city beyond the river. He couldn't focus on the river right now; not with too many memories of Ryan rushing through his head. The conversation with Stephen in study hall had brought them all back and he really didn't want to dwell on them too hard right now.

Dan sighed as he turned away from the river and faced Lucas. Lucas tried his best to gauge the older man's mood, but found it nearly impossible.

"I can see why you like it out here," Dan said. Lucas waited. Dan was almost exactly like him when it came to talking about important issues; divert them as long as possible. "It's peaceful, quiet, and not very many people around. It gives a guy a sense of security."

"It is nice," Lucas allowed while trying to figure out why Dan wanted to talk to him. He hadn't said two words to the man who was his father in over three months. What was the need for the sudden chat now?

"I know you're wondering why I wanted to talk to you," Dan said, smirking ever so slightly. Lucas nodded, ignoring the smirk and waited for his father to continue. "I heard about your heart."

"How?" Lucas asked, keeping his voice controlled and quiet.

"Your cardiologist just happens to be the same as mine," Dan replied. "He called me the other day and told me what was going on and your options."

"Let me guess, you're here to persuade me to do the surgery," Lucas said bitterly, looking away from Dan. "I'm telling up front, it's not going to happen."

"I lost the right to dictate your actions the day you were born," Dan said. "I have no right to tell you what to do and I wish that were different. I would love to force you into doing the surgery, but I can't. But listen to me, Lucas. You still have your entire life ahead of you if you go through with this surgery. I know the doctor said that you would only get a year, but that was the minimum, in case something went wrong. You could get your entire life back, free of the heart condition. You could play professional basketball. You could do whatever you wanted."

"I don't want to die on a table in a hospital," Lucas said, trying his hardest to keep his voice even. "I want to live my life, however short it may be, outside of the hospital. I'm sick of hospitals and I'm sick of pain."

"If you don't go through with the surgery, the pain's only going to get worse," Dan said. "You can't stop what's going to happen, Lucas, unless you go along with the surgery."

"It would only prolong the inevitable," Lucas countered. "I'd rather live those six months I do have left in peace. Not six months in a hospital bed."

"Do you even know what they're going to do if you do the surgery?" Dan asked. "Because it sounds to me you're misinformed, or not informed enough. If you knew, you'd go through with it in a heartbeat."

"I didn't ask for the details because even if I wanted to die in a hospital, which I don't, I could never afford the freaking surgery. I'm broke, incase you haven't noticed," Lucas snapped.

"They're going to give you a heart transplant," Dan said, seeming to ignore Lucas's last comment. "They're going to give you a second chance at everything. You won't be held back by your HCM, anymore. You could play basketball for a living, write your book, have a wife and kids… you could have your dreams if you go through with this."

"That sounds just peachy now," Lucas said bitterly. "But the risks far out weigh the gain. I could never afford it. If I went through with the surgery, I would be paying for it for the rest of my life. I could die on the damn table and never make it out of the hospital."

"So you rather die a painful death in six months or less than take a risk that could give you everything?" Dan demanded. "Your mother wouldn't want that. If she were here, she would want you to do the surgery, Lucas. She would want you to live your life."

"My mother is dead," Lucas spat. "And I'm here, all by myself, with no one to turn to. She didn't want that for me, either, but we never do get what we want, no do we?"

"Don't talk about Karen that way," Dan growled, his hands curling into fists. Lucas braced himself for a punch, but it never came. Dan sighed and visibly relaxed. "Lucas, if its money you need to go through with the surgery, if that's the only thing that's holding you back, then I'll gladly give it to you. If it's your fear of the surgery killing you, then it won't. I promise you that much."

"How do you know it won't?" Lucas challenged, still reeling from the mention of his mother. He hadn't thought about her in close to two years now and the sudden memory of her hurt.

"Because I've been through it myself," Dan said softly. "I've been in your position, Lucas. I've been the guy that's been afraid that he's not going to make it to graduation. I've been that guy that's been scared that he's dying too young. I've been the guy that's scared of the surgery. But your mother persuaded me to do the surgery, to live, to take the risk. It was the best thing I've ever done."

"I can't," Lucas whispered. He was beyond shocked by Dan's admittance of having been through the same hell he was going through right now. He would never have imagined it. He shook his head. "I just can't."

"You're making a mistake, Lucas," Dan said as Lucas turned to walk away. "You're making the biggest mistake of your life."

"Second biggest," Lucas corrected. "The first was ever wanting to get to know you in the first place. Nothing can be a bigger mistake than that."

With that, he turned and walked away, leaving a shocked Dan in his wake.

* * *

Haley smiled for the millionth time that evening as Tyler took her hand and led the way down the river walk. Night had fallen and the stars above were twinkling brightly above their heads. The lampposts glowed brightly as they wound their way around the other happy couples towards the funnel cake stand that sat at one end of the walk.

"Mm, funnel cakes," Tyler said, pulling out his wallet. "They're my favorite food, after macaroni and cheese of course."

Haley and Tyler had ate dinner at a small restaurant near the river walk, where they discovered they had yet another thing in common outside of their musical interests. Tyler's favorite food was macaroni and cheese. He swore it was the food of the gods, like Haley did.

"No way!" Haley exclaimed as Tyler ordered one for himself. "They're my favorite too!"

"Would you like one?" Tyler offered, as the man behind the stand handed him the piping hot cake. Haley nodded, eying his longingly. Tyler turned back to the man. "Make that two, please."

"Certainly, kind sir," the man said, as Tyler handed him a generous amount of money.

"Keep the change," he said as the man handed Haley the funnel cake. Haley smiled at the man, thanking him, before inching herself closer to Tyler.

"Thank you," she said, feeling comfortably warm as she bit into the funnel cake and Tyler wrapped an arm around her. The air had turned brisk and cold, something she hadn't been expecting. She had left her jacket at home. The warm food and Tyler's additional comfort felt nice.

"Any time," Tyler said, smiling as he kissed her forehead. Haley looked at him in shock for a moment. "What is it, Hales?"

"Nothing," Haley said quickly, mentally wincing at the sound of her nickname. "You just surprised me, that's all."

"I'm full of surprises, Haley James," Tyler said, smiling mysteriously as they started walking again.

"I can tell," Haley said, laughing as he tightened his arm around her.

"And you, are covered in powdered sugar, my dear James," he said, using his free hand and wiping away the powdered sugar that streaked across her cheek.

"Oh, thanks!" Haley said, blushing deeply. "That would have been embarrassing."

"No problem," Tyler said, smiling softly. "You know, you're kind of cute when you blush."

Haley blushed even harder and Tyler's smile grew larger.

"You're kind of generous, you know that?" she asked, leaning her head against his shoulder. "Buying me flowers, macaroni and cheese, and funnel cakes. You're my favorite type of guy."

"Really?" Tyler asked, quirking an eyebrow. Somewhere, in the distance, someone started playing the violin. Haley nodded, feeling content as she finished off her funnel cake and Tyler pulled her closer to him.

"This music is beautiful," she murmured as they drew closer to it. A flute was added in with the violin, along with a cello, a bass, and a piano.

"Like you are," Tyler said. Haley blushed again. "Would you like to dance?"

"I would love to," she murmured.

Tyler withdrew ever so slightly and took her hands in his own. He gently placed her arms around his neck and then proceeded to wrap his own around her waist.

"You know, Haley," he said as they started swaying gently to the music. "I've always wanted to get to know you."

"Really?" Haley asked, quirking one eyebrow in amusement. "Then why didn't you before?"

"Because I was too scared of you," he said, obviously embarrassed.

"You were scared of me?" Haley asked, trying to hide her laughter. Big bad Tyler Morrison, scared of _her_, Haley James. Wasn't that ironic? "Why?"

"You're so intelligent, so beautiful, and so… amazing, that every guy couldn't help but feel slightly scared of you," Tyler said, smiling. "And because you had the two toughest guys in the entire school watching over you, to make sure no one got close enough to hurt you."

"That's in the past now," Haley said firmly, taking a step away from Tyler. She would have tripped and fallen on her butt if Tyler hadn't caught her and smiled.

"I know," he said. "That's why I'm going to do this. Because I have you to myself now and Nathan isn't going to shoot me."

He leaned closer to her and gently kissed her.

* * *

Peyton fiddled with her hands nervously, picking at her fingernails as she waited for Nathan to start talking. He looked utterly depressed all of a sudden as he leaned back against her pillows.

"I, uh, this was probably a mistake, but I didn't know who else to turn to," Nathan said. "It's just gotten to be too damn much, Peyton."

"What has?" she asked softly, wondering what he meant.

"Life," he said. "Taking care of myself, being the adult, watching Lucas slowly dying even if he doesn't realize it, you not being in my life anymore, Haley moving on with that Tyler Morrison idiot… all of it is just too much."

"You're doing an amazing job of taking care of yourself, Nathan," she said. "And Lucas and everything else you have had to put up with over the past couple of months. You've probably had it harder then the rest of us, with finding out that you've had a brother all these years and no one ever telling you about it, only to have him turn into a murderer… I can't even begin to imagine what that's been like for you. And then Haley breaking up with you on top of it all just because she was scared of commitment… I am just so sorry, Nathan. You've had to put up with a lot."

"I miss you, Peyton," he said. "I miss just being able to talk to you about anything and you just joke it off or tell me something about your life. I miss being your friend."

"I never stopped being yours," Peyton said quietly. "Even if you thought you stopped being mine, I've always been yours. We've been through so much together, that it's impossible for us not to be friends. I miss you, too."

"God, when did life get so fucked up, Peyton? We hardly talk anymore, Haley doesn't love me anymore, and Lucas only has six more months…" Nathan trailed off and his eyes widened as he realized what he had just said. Peyton looked at him in alarm.

"Lucas only has six months left? What the hell?" she demanded, fighting back the tears that were threatening to spill. "What haven't you been telling me, Nathan? What has he been keeping from me?"

"He's going to kill me if he finds out I told you," Nathan muttered, more to himself than to her. "But you deserve to know. Even if you two aren't together anymore, you still deserve to know."

"Know what?" Peyton pushed, wanting to know what was going on. Nathan looked at her sadly.

"Lucas's heart condition has worsened," he said, looking away from her. "The doctors are giving him two options; one, to do a surgery, or two, to just have six months left to live. We can't afford the surgery, Peyton, and I'm scared that I'm going to lose my brother. I don't want to lose him, Peyton. He's the only family I have left that still gives a damn about me. He's the only one who's really been there, no matter what. I can't lose him. I just can't."

Peyton could see the tears that were starting to slide down Nathan's face and wished she could do something, anything, to comfort him, but she was in too much shock. Lucas was _dying_. There was nothing she could do. It wasn't like the drug addiction that could be solved through rehab and her constant presence… no, this was his genetics, this was Dan Scott's fault, and there was nothing she could do to stop it.

"Nathan," she whispered softly, not knowing what else to say. She got off the computer chair and sat down on the bed beside him. She put her head on his shoulder, fighting to keep back her own tears. It was a battle that was quickly lost.

"I am so sorry, Peyton," he whispered, holding her while she cried softly into his shoulder. "I wish that none of this were true, that this was just some bad nightmare. But Lucas is going to die and there's nothing I can do."

Peyton didn't say anything as she wept. She could feel Nathan's own tears hitting her head, but she couldn't do anything. She wrapped an arm around Nathan's chest.

"It's going to be okay," she whispered as the tears fell harder down her face. "We're going to get through this. We're all going to get through this okay."

"How?" Nathan said, his voice breaking. "How is it going to be okay?"

"You're just going to have to believe it," Peyton whispered. "You're just going to have to believe that everything's going to be okay."

* * *

Brooke opened the door wider and let Stephen in, not knowing what else to do.

"What are you doing here?" she asked as he stepped inside. "Does Peyton know you're here?"

"I said I needed to talk to you," Stephen said, closing the door for her. "And no, Peyton doesn't know I'm here. I was going to talk to her, but Nathan showed up at her doorstep before I could get there."

"Why me?" Brooke demanded. "Why not your sister?"

Brooke and Stephen had hung out a couple of times when Brooke had just moved back to Tree Hill a couple of months ago. It had been right before Stephen had started dating Peyton, which had hurt Brooke. Brooke always had a soft spot for Stephen; he reminded her a lot of what she used to have with Lucas and she wanted that again.

"Because you're probably the only one who would understand right now," he said. He looked at her, slightly shyly. "You should probably sit down for this."

"I think I'll take it standing up," Brooke said, confused. "What's going on, Stephen?"

"I don't love Peyton," he said, leaning against the door and crossing his arms. Brooke had to fight to keep her concentration on what he was saying, not on his mannerisms. "I barely like her. The only reason why I'm still with her is to make the girl I want to be with jealous. Only it doesn't seem to be working."

"I thought you were doing it to make Lucas jealous," Brooke pointed out, not liking the direction this conversation was heading. She knew all too well who he liked, but she didn't want it to be true.

"That's just an added bonus," Stephen said, smirking slightly. "That guy needs to be taken down a couple of notches. He thinks he owns Peyton, and that's just not healthy."

"He loves her," Brooke snapped. "There's a difference."

"Whatever you say," Stephen said, rolling his eyes. "But I thought I could get Peyton to move past Lucas and vice versa. The only thing I've managed to do is make them both miserable, as well as myself. That's not what I wanted."

"Then what do you want?" Brooke demanded. Stephen looked her directly in the eye.

"I want you," he said.

**

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So… what did you all think? Horrible? Down right amazing? Somewhere in between? Reviews are always welcome!!


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I do not own **_**One Tree Hill**_** or any of its characters.**

**Author's Note: I think I'm getting better at writing this story. I'm interested in it again, to say the least. This chapter actually goes along with the previous one, instead of jumping all over the place like all the others have. I hope you're proud of me.**

**Author's Note 2: I am so sorry that I haven't been updating lately. I have been so busy with school, horse, homework, and my own novel, that I've hardly had time to read any FanFiction, let alone write any. I'll have the next update up as soon as I finish it, though don't expect it anytime this weekend. Christmas time is coming, so maybe I'll be nice and give you guys at least three more updates then. : - ) **

**Author's Note 3: I've noticed, that even though I haven't been updating consistently, that interest in this story is going up. I have gotten more alerts for this story in the first seven chapters than I did in the first thirty of **_**ODPOSR**_**. I'm going to say one thing to you guys on that respect: thank you so much!! Review, if you haven't done so already.**

**Author's Note 4: Though this chapter flows a little better, there are some parts where I just started stringing it along and it starts to drag a little bit. Just read quickly through those parts and it will get better, promise.**

**Author's Note 5: The biggest problem you guys had with the last chapter was the sudden, unexpected twist to the end of it because I didn't have any evidence supporting it. Have no fear, evidence is coming. That's part of the reason why the next chapters are so huge is because they do a lot of revealing. Also, I have introduced a smaller, nearly invisible plotline about Nathan that might have a role in the coming chapters as well. If not, it will certainly make for some interesting flashbacks or maybe even a separate story if you guys are interested. **

**I'm going to quit this babbling now so you can read the chapter. Remember to review, please!!**

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**Broken Hearts and Healing Minds**

**Chapter 7**

Lucas was just finishing wrapping an ace bandage around his hand when he heard a soft knock coming from the front door. Wondering who it would want to talk to him at nine o'clock at night and knowing Nathan wasn't home; Lucas pulled his t-shirt off of the bathroom counter and headed to the door.

Yanking it open, Lucas was surprised to find Peyton standing on the other side, tears visible in her green eyes. She looked at him with a slightly accusatory expression and another emotion, one that Lucas couldn't quite decipher.

"Peyton, what are you doing here?" he asked after a moment's pause. Peyton looked at him, shaking her head.

"I wanted to know if it was true," she whispered, looking away from him. Lucas stared at her, eyebrow raised and waiting for her to continue. When she made it clear that she wasn't going to continue, he sighed.

"Why don't you come in?" he suggested, opening the door up further and moving away from it so she could enter.

Peyton glanced up at him, surprised, before nodding. She followed him quietly into the living room, where she sat down on the couch. Lucas sat across from her.

"What did you do to your hand?" she asked, wiping away a stray tear with one hand and motioning towards the ace bandage with the other.

Lucas fiddled with his injured hand embarrassedly.

"There was this bug on the wall and it was annoying me," he murmured, smirking ever so slightly. Peyton looked at him in shocked disbelief, but there was also a bit of humor in her expression. Lucas looked away; knowing that if he continued to stare at her the way he had been doing, he would be reminded of things he really didn't want to think about at the moment, such as the way she smiled when she saw through his lies, the way she made him tell her the truth… he shook the thoughts away.

"You punched a hole in your wall because of a _bug_?" she asked. Her voice cracked, making Lucas turn to face her again.

"It was a big bug," he offered with a small smile. She returned it hesitantly. It was smaller than his, and it disappeared quickly, but Lucas couldn't help but feel a small victory that she had smiled. At him. Not at Stephen.

"Luke," Peyton murmured, looking away. Lucas could have sworn she was blushing. "I, uh, I talked to Nathan this afternoon."

All the thoughts of trying to win Peyton back that had suddenly gone through his mind vanished. Lucas knew where this conversation was heading. Nathan had told Peyton about Lucas's heart condition.

"I'm fine, Peyton," he said, shifting slightly in the armchair and refusing to meet her angry eyes. He started picking nervously at a loose thread on the chair.

"That's why a bug pissed you off enough that you broke your damned hand punching a hole through the plaster?"

Lucas glared stonily at her.

"It's none of your damn business what the hell I do in my apartment. It's none of your damn business if I break my hand punching a damned wall because I got suspended because of your damned boyfriend and I have a damned heart condition and I have a damned life," he said, his voice rising until he was nearly shouting at her.

Peyton barely flinched. She glared back, her glare much more impressive than his.

"I think I have a right to know if my friend is dying," she spat back. "And if you want to get pissed off at me, than fine. I don't really give a damn. I was just trying to be nice and show that I care. I'm sorry if your life is so fucked up."

With that, she rose and stormed out of the living room. Without thinking about it, Lucas got up and followed quickly behind her. He cut in front of her right as she reached the front door, successfully blocking her exit.

"Get out of my way, Lucas," she growled. "You made your opinion of me extremely clear. You don't want me to care about you, so I'm getting out of your life."

"Peyton, wait," he said, reaching out and touching her hand. She sighed.

"What, Luke?" she asked, her voice resentful and angry. Lucas knew he had screwed up royally, again.

"I'm sorry," he said softly. "I didn't mean to make you mad. I'm just scared."

"Of what?" Peyton demanded, her voice incredulous. "What are you so scared of?"

"I'm scared of dying," he said, looking away from her. He heard her sharp intake of breath as she realized that what she thought was true, was. That Lucas only had six months to live tops and that there was nothing any of them could do, unless Lucas took Dan up on his offer and got the surgery.

"Isn't there anything they can do? Like surgery, perhaps?" Peyton suggested. Lucas let out a snort of contempt, turning away and walking towards the kitchen, knowing that Peyton would follow.

"I can't afford it and even if I could, I wouldn't do it," he said.

"Why the hell not?" Peyton demanded.

Lucas turned to her and matched her gaze evenly. They glared at each other for a few moments.

"You know how I feel about hospitals," he pointed out.

"Are you really that selfish? That you're willing to just give up and die because you're scared of a hospital? You know, I once thought you were the most selfless guy, who wasn't scared of anything," she said, her voice turning extremely disappointed. "I guess I was wrong."

"Oh, I'm the selfish one, am I?" Lucas demanded. "I'm not the one who kept stringing someone along because they couldn't make up their damn mind about what they wanted. I wasn't the one who just sits there like there's absolutely nothing wrong with the way things are going when people are getting hurt because of it."

"No one is getting hurt because of me and Stephen," Peyton defended. Lucas held up his wrist.

"I can name four right now who are," he shot back. "Don't you dare call me selfish because of the way I want to spend the last few months of my life."

"If you get the surgery, then you can have _years_," Peyton returned angrily.

"Who says I want them, huh? Who says I want another year, or ten, or fifty?" Lucas asked.

Peyton, for once, was speechless, but only for a moment.

"You can't mean that, Lucas," she said. She was surprised and sad now. The emotions were racing across her face.

"Who says I can't? You? Last I checked, you haven't been around that much lately. How the hell would you know if I wanted to off myself? Why the hell do you even care anymore, anyways?"

"I care because if you die, you'll kill Nathan. He has already lost his father, his mother, Haley, and now he's going to lose you too? The only real family member that's been there for him? He barely made it past his mother's death. The only reason why he's still here is because of you. You were there for him when he needed someone to turn to. Yeah, Haley was there and I was too, but you were the one who really made a difference in his life, Luke. Hell, you've made a difference in Brooke's life, too. She was a bitch before you started taking the time to talk to her and believed that she would make a great mother, even when the rest of us thought you were insane for thinking those things. But you were right. Brooke is better than the rest of us gave her credit for. You've made a difference, Luke, and if you are as selfish as you are right now and just let yourself _die_ in six months, then you're going to affect a lot of people."

"I don't make that much of a difference," Lucas countered. He was eager for this conversation to end. He knew she was right, but he didn't want to think about it that way. He wanted to think about it as his own decision and how it was going to affect _him_, not everyone else. Why should everyone else care if he died? If he wanted to go off himself, then that was his problem, not theirs. Apparently, they didn't see it like that.

"Yeah, you do," Peyton returned softly. "And if you can't see that, then you're less intelligent than I thought."

She turned to leave, and this time, Lucas let her. He stood stock still next to the island as the front door slammed shut behind her. He waited until he was completely sure that she was gone before sighing and turning to grab the phone off of the hook. He needed to make some phone calls, the first to Dan Scott.

* * *

Brooke stared at Stephen in shock. She couldn't believe the nerve of this guy. He was dating Peyton, who had given up just about everything to be with him, and he was standing at her doorstep trying to persuade Brooke that he wanted to be with her after months of silence. Sure, they had had some nice times together back before Stephen became popular and started dating Peyton and they may have been heading towards something more, but he was with _Peyton_ for god's sake. He was not allowed to be begging Brooke to be with him.

"I-I don't know what to say to that, Stephen," she said, stuttering in surprise. Stephen looked slightly crestfallen.

"I was hoping for more of _I want you, too Stephen_, rather than a _I don't know what to say_," he said, shoving his hands into the pockets of his jeans.

"I can't say that right now, Stephen," she said, crossing her arms in front of her chest. She felt a slight thrill go through her when she touched the small, unnoticeable bump where her future son or daughter was growing.

"Well why not?" he demanded. He actually had the balls to sound innocent. Brooke could hardly believe she ever liked this guy. He was a dick.

"You're dating _Peyton_," she stressed. "You may not like her anymore, but you're still with her. I'm not doing anything to piss her off."

"C'mon, Brooke. She's already pissed you off. An eye for an eye, what do you say? A little sneaking around never hurt anybody."

"Are you joking?" Brooke screeched, remembering the days when she had been dating Lucas and she had been sneaking around with Nathan at the same time. She still wasn't positive if Lucas had fully forgiven her for that, even though it had been close to three and a half years ago.

"Whatever you want to do, so long as it involves me," Stephen said, smirking as he shrugged his shoulders. Brooke wanted to slam the door in his face, break his nose, and then do it all over again. She wanted him to disappear.

"Go away, Stephen," she said, moving to slam the door and accomplish what she wanted to do. Stephen's hand stopped the wooden door in its tracks.

"Don't be like that, Brooke. You know we're supposed to be together," he said.

"And I know that people who are supposed to be together won't go sneaking around behind other people's backs," Brooke returned. "I'm not doing that to Peyton and I'm not doing that to Lucas."

"How the hell did Lucas end up in this conversation?" Stephen demanded.

"Lucas would kill you if you did that to Peyton. Believe me, I'm doing this more for you than for me. If you want to die, go ahead, find some blonde bimbo and sneak around with her. I'm not doing that to my friends," Brooke said. "I'm not that stupid."

"I didn't know that Peyton was your friend," Stephen countered. He sighed, holding up his hands in surrender. "Fine. If you don't want to go out with me so long as I'm with Peyton, then fine. I'll break up with Peyton."

"Don't break up with her unless you really mean it," Brooke said warningly. "I'm not going to hurt Peyton. She may have already fucked up royally, but one of us has to be the better person in all of this."

"You're right," Stephen conceded. "But what if I do mean it? What if I do want to be with you and not with Peyton?"

"Then you're smoking something," Brooke said. "Peyton is perfect. She is smart, sexy as hell, she really likes you, and she isn't knocked up by some psychopath murderer."

"What if those are all the things I like about you?" Stephen asked, his eyebrows raised suggestively.

"Then I'd have to say you're seriously smoking something," Brooke snapped. "Don't you get it, Stephen? I'm not going to be with you. Not now, not anytime in the near future. Not until you grow up. Peyton may like you, but right now, I sure as hell don't."

"You liked me before I got popular," Stephen pointed out. "Remember, all those nights on the beach, when it was just the two of us?"

"Yeah, before you became a dick," Brooke said softly. "Those were really nice nights, Stephen. Probably some of the best of my life. But the fact is, what you're asking me to do, is wrong. I can't be with a guy who I know will go to another girl if he gets bored with me. I can't be with you Stephen."

"One of these days, you'll change your mind about me," Stephen said. "Maybe it will be this weekend, at prom."

"I highly doubt it," Brooke said condescendingly. "I tend to spend most of the evening with Nathan and Lucas, far away from you."

"Maybe," Stephen said, shrugging and smirking. "Maybe not."

With that, he turned and walked away.

* * *

Haley felt happier than she had in a long time, since the day Nathan proposed to her to be exact. Tyler was perfect, everything she could want in a rebound boyfriend from Nathan. He was sweet, smart, funny, and an overall very good listener. He wasn't the same person Haley had always seen him as over the past eight years, which had been a bully and a jackass to all those who didn't play baseball. He was really a good person underneath all those layers of protection. He reminded her a lot of Nathan.

They had a nice evening together after the dancing and funnel cakes. Tyler had walked her back to the motel she was staying at. He had kissed her lightly on the cheek and invited her again to prom that weekend, which she had said yes to again. It had been extremely nice. She could hardly wait for prom so she could be with him again.

She was just sitting down to enjoy the free cable when a knock sounded at her door for the second time that evening. Knowing that it wasn't Tyler, for he had just left ten minutes ago, Haley got off her bed and walked to the door, wondering who it could be. She was surprised when she pulled open the door and found Brooke standing there, tears streaming down her face.

"I didn't know who else to turn to," she said, wiping uselessly at the tears that were falling steadily. "I just really need my cousin."

Haley nodded, not sure what else to do. She wrapped an arm around Brooke's shoulders and towed the crying girl inside and shut the door.

* * *

Lucas hung up the phone for the last time and sighed as Nathan walked through the door, looking slightly guilty as he did so.

"You can stop sneaking around," Lucas said, standing up and stretching his stiff muscles. He winced at the shooting pain that went through his hand. "Peyton told me that you told her. Well, not in so many words, but since you are one of the only three people that know, I figured it must have been you. Some how, I don't see my doctor or Dan calling Peyton and telling her about my heart condition."

"You're not mad," Nathan noted, a look of shock crossing his face at the realization. Lucas shrugged.

"She had a right to know. Hell, you can tell Haley and Brooke if you want to," he said. He mentally winced as he saw the flash of pain that crossed Nathan's face at the sound of Haley's name. "Sorry."

"It's okay," Nathan said, stiffening ever so slightly. "If I knew you were capable of reacting logically, I might have told them sooner."

"Peyton's beyond pissed at me right now," Lucas said, picking up the book he had abandoned on the kitchen island late the night before after a round of orange juice and vodka.

"She should be," Nathan said, sitting down in one of the empty chairs. "You're being an ass."

"You can save the whole 'you're a selfish idiot' speech. Peyton beat you to it and I'm working on it," Lucas said, flipping open to a random page and started skimming through the story. He had read it a thousand times before; he was just doing it to keep busy.

"And by working on it, you mean…?" Nathan trailed off.

"I'm working on it," Lucas said.

Nathan seemed to accept the fact that he wasn't going to get another word out of Lucas on that subject. Lucas had gone back to a lot of his one worded conversations since he and Peyton had broken up.

"I'm starving, can we work on getting something to eat?" Nathan asked. Lucas smirked at him over the top of his book.

"Done," he said. "I ordered a pizza. Figured it was a night to celebrate."

"Celebrate what exactly?" Nathan asked, sounding confused.

"I'm working on a reason," Lucas said, smirking again. Nathan smirked in response.

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Well, hope you liked it!! Sorry again for the length in between updates. I've been really busy… with absolutely no time to write anything at all. Read and review, please!!


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I do not own **_**One Tree Hill**_** or any of its characters.**

**Author's Note: I'll be totally honest with everyone, I have no idea where the hell this chapter came from, but I totally like it. The start of all the action that is to come begins, with a huge dramatic turn that probably none of you were expecting. I'll leave you all to wonder what's going on with that. Also, it has a lot of your favorite interactions in it and very little Brooke, which you all seem to like. **

**Author's Note 2: Prom is either going to start next chapter or is going to consume most of the next chapter; that hasn't been decided yet. If you have a preference, let me know and I'll try to write it. **

**Author's Note 3: I'm hoping to have another chapter up as soon as Thursday as a Christmas present or holiday present, depending on what religion you all are. Hope you enjoy!!**

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One Tree Hill

"_**Broken Hearts and Healing Minds**_**"**

**Chapter 8**

Lucas shut the TV off and threw away the last of the pizza boxes, yawning as he did so. He and Nathan had stayed up to around two in the morning, watching bad TV and eating the pizza Lucas had ordered, as well as getting drunk off of the vodka that Nathan had bought with his fake id earlier that day.

It was getting close to seven in the morning now. Nathan was passed out on the couch, snoring loudly with a blanket thrown carelessly over top of him. Lucas had done that around three, when he was trying to get some sleep, but couldn't due to Nathan's snoring.

Lucas had never gone to sleep. Some of it was due to Nathan's loud snoring and the mixture of alcohol and caffeine he had, but most of it was nerves. He had a doctor's appointment later that morning to schedule his heart surgery and to talk about the risks of it, other than death. Lucas had called Dan before Nathan had gotten home and the older Scott had agreed to pay for Lucas's heart surgery, no strings attached. It was up to Lucas to schedule the date and time and Dan would bankroll the entire thing. Lucas was a little leery about the whole deal, but a voice in the back of his head that sounded a lot like Peyton made him go through with it. Nathan still had yet to find out about it.

The sound of the phone ringing somewhere in the distance brought about Lucas's hangover. He groaned loudly as he stumbled towards the kitchen and grabbed the phone off the hook.

"Hello?" he asked, yawning hugely again. His voice was rough and almost completely foreign.

"_Luke? Is that you?_"

Haley's distressed, shrill voice made his head hurt even worse. Lucas inhaled a deep breath, trying to keep the room from spinning.

"No, it's Santa. Lucas isn't in right now. He's too busy sleeping," he growled. He didn't mean to be short with Haley, but he was extremely hung over and he was getting tired of her seven o'clock in the morning phone calls to bitch about what happened between her and Nathan. Lucas was getting to the point where he wanted to strangle his best friend.

"_Lucas, this is serious. It's about Brooke,_" Haley snapped. The harsh tone instantly caught Lucas's attention.

"What's wrong?" he demanded, growing worried. Was there something wrong with the baby? Did someone try to hurt her? He was barely aware of Haley telling him what happened as he thought of all the possibilities that could happen.

"_…and Stephen tried to force her to go out with him behind Peyton's back. Can you believe that cretin?_" Haley asked.

The moment Haley mentioned Stephen's name, Lucas hung up the phone. Hangover be damned, he was not going to let Stephen hurt Peyton. He quickly scribbled a note to Nathan before storming out the door.

He was about halfway down the apartment stairs when he saw Peyton coming up the stairs. He stopped instantly, nearly falling down the stairs when the world started spinning again.

"Lucas?" she asked, sounding confused. "What are you doing out here?"

"I live here, remember?" Lucas pointed out, yawning and balancing himself on his good hand and the railing. "What are you doing here? It's seven o'clock in the freaking morning!"

"I needed to talk to you," she admitted. She glanced nervously at the door behind him. "Well, I actually wanted to talk to Nathan, but since you're up, I guess you'll do."

"What's wrong, Peyton?" Lucas asked, the conversation he had just had with Haley about Brooke and Stephen running through his head. From the look on Peyton's face, something bad had happened.

"I, uh, I just need to talk to you," Peyton mumbled, crossing her arms over her chest and shifting her weight nervously. "Do you mind if we go to the river court?"

"No, that's fine," Lucas said. "I just need to be back by ten."

"Got a hot date?" Peyton teased as Lucas waked down the stairs to join her. Lucas heard the slight catch in her voice and knew that she was hoping it wasn't true.

"Not exactly," he said, deciding to be honest with her instead of lying. After all, she was the one who forced him into it in the first place.

"What's going on?" she asked, seeming to catch the fact that whatever Lucas had going on; it wasn't something he really wanted to do.

"I, uh, I have a doctor's appointment," he said, wondering why it was so hard to get out the words.

"Is everything okay?" Peyton asked, concern flooding her voice. Lucas almost let himself believe for a moment that she was still his, that Stephen and Ryan had never existed. Almost.

"Yeah, everything's going to be fine," he said, forcefully crossing his arms to resist the urge to wrap an arm around her shoulder or take her hand.

"Going to be?" Peyton questioned, raising an eyebrow in confusion.

Lucas sighed, uncrossing his arms for a moment so he could run a hand through his hair. He winced as he used his broken hand.

"I thought about what you said yesterday," he admitted. Peyton's face went blank.

"I meant what I said about you being selfish for not doing the surgery," she said, her voice suddenly chilly.

"I know that," Lucas said quickly. "That's why I called Dan and my cardiologist and am going in today to set up a date for the surgery."

Peyton stopped walking and stared at him in shock.

"Are you serious?" she asked, her voice raising an octave in surprise. "You're going to go through with it?"

"Yeah, I guess," he said, shrugging as if it weren't a big deal and he wasn't freaking out about it at that moment.

"What made you change your mind?" she asked curiously as she jogged to catch up with him.

"You did," he said, taking a swift glance in her direction. She looked mildly surprised, but said nothing. She merely nodded. "Peyton, everything you said yesterday was true. I talked to Dan and he's agreed to pay for everything. I just have to show up."

"Do you mind if I'm there?" Peyton asked softly, her face turning a pale pink. Lucas smiled softly.

"No, I don't," he said, his voice equally as quiet as hers. His voice turned hard as he added, "But will your boyfriend let you?"

Peyton looked suddenly bitter, an angry scowl crossing her face.

"That moron isn't going to be my boyfriend much longer if he keeps this up," she growled. Lucas was shocked at the sudden anger. As far as he knew, Peyton didn't know that Stephen was trying to cheat with Brooke, not unless Stephen was more honest than Lucas gave him credit for.

"Oh?" Lucas asked.

Peyton went red again.

"This is why I wanted to talk to Nathan instead of you," she admitted. They had reached the river court and she took a seat at one of the picnic tables. Lucas, out of habit, took the abandoned basketball out from underneath the table and started dribbling it with his good hand.

"Hey, I'm capable of being a third party observer who has no interest in the matter," he said, smiling as Peyton let out a laugh.

"Yeah, and I'm capable of shooting a three pointer ten times in a row!" she shot back, smirking.

"Can you?" he challenged, knowing that Peyton would never back down. She rolled her eyes and got off the picnic table.

"How about if I make all ten, you tell me what you were doing awake at seven this morning?" she suggested, walking to the three point line. "And if I miss one, then I have to tell you about why I'm so pissed off at Stephen."

"How about this?" Lucas countered, holding the ball against his side. "If I make this one shot, you tell me everything. If I miss, I tell you everything and then we try again."

Peyton shrugged, gesturing towards the basket.

"Be my guest, Mr. I-broke-my-hand-punching-a-wall-yesterday," she said, her smirk growing more pronounced.

Lucas smirked in response, turning around and shooting the basket. It went in with a gentle _swish_. Behind him, Peyton sighed.

"Start talking," he said, his smirk growing even more pronounced.

* * *

Nathan woke up to the sound of someone pounding on his door. He groaned, not wanting to get off the couch. He wanted to bury his head underneath the pillows and never come up again. Unfortunately, the person pounding on the door would not go away.

Grumbling under his breath about annoying people, he got off of the couch and headed towards the door. He yanked it open, yawning as he did so, and was surprised to see Dan standing there.

"Hello, Nathan," the older man said, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Is Lucas home?"

"I don't know," Nathan said, yawning again. "I didn't see him when I woke up this morning. What do you want with him, anyways?"

"I just wanted to talk to him about our little phone call last night," Dan said. Nathan stared at him blankly, wondering what on earth his father could be talking about and trying to remember why he had such a huge headache. Both weren't going too well.

"Dan, what the hell are you talking about? Lucas didn't call you last night," he said. Dan looked shocked.

"Lucas didn't tell you?" he asked, his shocked expression turning amused. "My, my, I guess that guy keeps more secrets from his family then I do."

"What?" Nathan asked, extremely confused now.

"Do you know about Lucas's heart condition?" Dan asked, sounding placating now.

"Yes," Nathan snapped. "The guy doesn't keep _that_ many secrets."

"Then you'll know about his options for surgery or six months to live," Dan concluded, crossing his arms over his chest and staring at Nathan expectantly.

"Yes," Nathan said shortly. He sighed. "If you want to play mind games, Dan, go somewhere else. If you want a punching bag, Lucas isn't here and I don't know where the hell he went. If you want a heart-warming talk about how I should persuade Lucas to do the surgery, then he's working on it. Peyton beat you to that heartwarming speech last night."

"I know that Lucas is working on it. Hell, he's going in today to schedule the surgery," Dan said smugly.

Nathan blanched. Lucas _did_ what? And he didn't bother telling Nathan about it? Nathan was going to kill his brother whenever the guy got home. Nathan had a right to know these things, especially when it concerned their lack of finances.

"You're lying," Nathan said, trying to cover up his surprise. Dan smirked.

"Here's a tip. Never play poker and always ask what your brother is up to," he said, leaning forward. "And for the record, you should be glad that your brother is going through with this surgery."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Nathan asked, his voice icing over as he itched to slam the door in his father's face. It would be so easy to just break the guy's perfect nose.

"Isn't it true that Lucas does all the work around here? That he's the one that is keeping this cracked up dream of being free of my control alive? Aren't you the one just coasting off of it?" Dan asked, his smirk growing more pronounced.

"I think it's time for you to leave," a cold, female voice said from behind Dan. Dan turned and Nathan looked over Dan's shoulder, eyes widening in surprise when he saw Haley standing there, her fingers curled into tight fists.

"Haley, my, my, isn't this a pleasant surprise," Dan said, smiling politely. Haley looked as though she were about ready to spit in his face. Nathan fought back a laugh at the image of short little Haley spitting in Dan's face.

"Not really," Haley said curtly. "There is nothing pleasant about you."

Nathan bit his lip as Dan's face went from pleasant to pissed off in a matter of seconds. He nodded once towards Nathan before brushing past Haley and storming down the stairs.

Nathan groaned as he turned to go back in his apartment. His head ached and he suddenly felt the urge to throw up. He was never drinking straight liquor again.

"Nathan, wait!" Haley said, taking a couple of steps forward and putting a hand on Nathan's shoulder. He stopped and turned to face her, blinking as he tried to focus.

"What do you want, Hales?" he asked, resigned. She looked slightly hurt by the causal use of her nickname, but Nathan didn't really care. She broke up with him; he didn't have to play nice if he didn't want to.

"I wanted to talk to Lucas," she said, shoving her hands in her pockets. "He hung up on me this morning and I wanted to tell him something."

"Why the hell is he more popular than I am? It seems like everyone but me wants to talk to the damn guy! Well, you know what? I have no idea where the hell he went! I don't care and I don't plan on changing that anytime soon! So go back to wherever the hell you came from and leave me alone!"

Haley bit her lip and her eyes were wide with tears. Nathan instantly felt guilty.

"Hales…"

"No," she said angrily. He took a step towards her. "Stay away from me! I'm leaving now. That's what you want, isn't it? So just let me go, Nathan!"

With that, she turned and stormed down the stairs, leaving Nathan dumfounded as to what just happened.

* * *

Lucas sat down on the picnic table overlooking the river and sighed as Peyton sat down next to him.

"Peyton," he began.

"Lucas," she started at the exact same moment. She blushed and looked away as Lucas laughed slightly. "You go first."

Lucas fiddled with his thumbs, trying to figure out the best way to tell her this. He had so much to say, but knew that Peyton wouldn't believe him. She would accuse him of being jealous or selfish and then all the breakthroughs they had made over the past couple of days would be gone. She would e gone and he would never have another chance at being close to her again. This was his one chance not to screw things up.

"You mentioned that you were pissed at Stephen," he said. Peyton glanced at him, raising an eyebrow questioningly. "I just wanted to know what that was about."

Peyton sighed and looked down at her hands, picking at her finger nails as she did so. She started picking at her thumb nail before she started talking.

"Stephen and I were never going to be anything special," she said. "I knew that going into the relationship. I had my true love and then I went and screwed it up. I knew that there was no one out there who was going to be like you, Luke. But I hoped that Stephen would come close, help me get over some of what I was going through."

"But?" Lucas prompted softly. Tears were now streaming down her face. Lucas couldn't resist putting an arm around her shoulders. Peyton leaned into him, placing her face on his shoulder.

"He was great at first. He was smart, kind, and funny, everything that a girl could want. He took me to some really nice concerts, a couple of good restaurants. We had a good time. I was finally getting over what I had done to you."

"Peyton, I did those things to myself. I pushed you away because I was angry at Ryan and took it out on you," Lucas protested. Peyton shook her head sadly.

"Neither of us realized that at the time. Anyways, I had heard that he had been really in to Brooke before he had become all popular. They had even gone out for a while, but she had broken it off with him right around the same time she started dating Ryan," she whispered, inching closer to Lucas. He welcomed the contact. It was nice. "I never realized just how much Stephen had fallen for her until I started telling him about how angry I was at her. He started telling me that she was a good person, that I should give her a chance. By the time I realized what was going on, Stephen was at my door, telling me that he wanted to break up with me. He has been in love with Brooke this entire time, Lucas. And I've been too stupid to realize it."

"No, not stupid," Lucas said, his voice soft. "You were never stupid. You were just lonely and hurting. Stephen had no right to take advantage of you like that. He was trying to make Brooke jealous by using you. That wasn't fair of him."

"If I asked you to push him over a cliff, would you do it for me?" Peyton asked quietly. "Because I don't think I'd mind."

"As much as I'd love to, you'd hate me in the morning," Lucas said, smiling softly. Peyton smiled in response and wiped at her eyes.

"I could never hate you, Luke," she murmured, resting her chin on his shoulder and leaning her head against his. He threaded his fingers through his, not caring at how close they were. He was still in love with her, even after all this time.

"So you and Stephen are done?" he asked. He hated how hopeful his voice sounded at that moment. What a cruel person he was, hoping that Stephen and Peyton had broken up so he could have Peyton back for himself.

"He said we could break up after prom. I took him up on it, mostly because I didn't want to be going to prom alone. At this time, you and Brooke were going to prom together," Peyton said quietly.

"I'm still going with her," Lucas said, sighing. "Brooke's a good friend, Peyton. She doesn't deserve to get punished because Stephen's a dick. It's not fair to her, especially after what Ryan did to her. She still feels immensely guilty about that."

"I don't blame her," Peyton said quickly. "I blame myself more than anyone. I got myself into this mess, it's up to me to get myself out of it."

"You know I'm here if you need me, right Peyton?" he asked, squeezing her hand gently. She nodded, trying obviously to compose herself.

"You said you had something you needed to tell me," she said, wiping her eyes as she did so. "What was it?"

"It's not important," Lucas said, looking away from her.

"You sure?" she asked, sounding surprised. He nodded, still looking away from her. How could he tell her what Haley had told him, when she already knew? What good would it do to hurt her even more?

"Peyton, you know I'm going through with this surgery, right?" he asked. Peyton nodded. "Well, there's always a chance that I won't make it, and if I don't-"

"Don't you dare talk like that," she interrupted him. Lucas glanced back at her, surprised. Peyton looked extremely pissed off.

"What?"

"Don't give me that whole _I'm going to die and I want you to know that I love you _speech," she said angrily. "You're going to be just fine and you know it. Stop trying this harder than it already is."

"Harder than what already is?"

Nathan walked across the court at that moment, looking confused and angry. Lucas ran a hand through his hair and sighed as Peyton hurriedly wiped at her eyes and got off the bench.

"What are you doing here, Nathan?" Lucas asked, getting off the bench as well.

"Looking for you," Nathan said, glancing at Peyton. "Does she know?"

"Know what?" Lucas asked, puzzled by Nathan's pissed off attitude. He knew the guy was hung over, but this was getting nuts.

"Don't play stupid with me," Nathan snapped. "Dan stopped by the apartment this morning. He wanted to know what time your appointment was scheduled for this morning. I told him to go piss off."

"I think I'm going to go," Peyton said softly, placing a hand on Lucas's shoulder. "I'll see you later?"

"Yeah, call me," Lucas said, offering her a small smile, which she was quick to return. She nodded towards Nathan and walked off the river court, heading in the general direction of her house.

"Are you guys together again or are you just screwing with her?" Nathan demanded, the second Peyton was out of ear-shot.

"She needed someone to talk to and you were to busy doing an imitation of a corpse to be woken up. I was already heading out when I ran into her," Lucas said, refusing to let his anger rise. He knew he could take Nathan in a fist fight, even with his broken hand, but would prefer not to.

"And I'm supposed to believe that, even though you've been busy pining over her for the past couple of months?" Nathan demanded, his voice full of disbelief.

"What the hell do you think happened?" Lucas demanded. "That I snuck out early this morning, went to her house, dragged her kicking and screaming out of her room, and forced her to talk to me?"

"What did you guys talk about?" Nathan asked.

"Stephen, mostly. And my damned heart condition. And the world's economy and the chances of you winning the lottery these days," Lucas said sarcastically, knowing nothing else would piss Nathan off more. He didn't know why, but he suddenly wanted to make Nathan angry, for his younger brother to feel some of the anger that Lucas was feeling at the world right now.

"Cut the bull shit, Lucas," Nathan snapped. "Why did you guys talk about your heart condition? Does it have anything to do with the surgery that Dan's paying for?"

"How did you find out about that?" Lucas asked, dumbstruck. He was planning on telling Nathan about the surgery, because his brother deserved to know, but he wasn't planning on telling Nathan about Dan's involvement. He knew that Nathan would dissuade him to do it if Dan were paying for it.

"Dan came to the apartment this morning, looking for you. He told me about the surgery, Lucas. I told him he was a lying bastard, but it looks like the one who was lying to me was you!"

"I haven't been lying to you, Nathan," Lucas snapped. Nathan raised an eyebrow, his face full of skepticism.

"Oh? So you're not going through with the surgery and Dan is not paying for it?" he asked. Lucas was silent, letting that be the answer for Nathan. "How long have you known about this?"

"Since last fucking night!" Lucas said heatedly. "And I was actually going to tell you about the surgery after the doctor's appointment today so I could tell you everything."

"Except about Dan's involvement," Nathan concluded, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "You know, I thought you were different from Dan. Turns out you're exactly like him. A lying bastard."

With that, Nathan turned and stormed off, leaving Lucas to wonder as to what the hell just happened.

* * *

Nathan stormed into the apartment, slamming the door shut behind him. He knew it was unfair to go off on Lucas the way he had, but Nathan was so sick of being lied to, of being told only the partial truth. He knew that if Dan hadn't told him about Lucas's heart surgery and the elder Scott's own involvement in bankrolling the entire thing, Lucas wouldn't have bothered telling him. He never did, and that was really beginning to piss Nathan off. First, it had been the whole Ryan threatening to kill Lucas thing, followed shortly by the whole Ryan being Lucas and Nathan's brother. That had been followed by the whole they were so broke it wasn't funny. All these things involved both Nathan and Lucas, but the latter had decided it wasn't important enough to tell the youngest Scott.

Nathan stomped down the hallway to his bedroom, knocking things off the wall as he went, things such as pictures and awards from the past. He completely ignored them as he burst into his bedroom and grabbed his sports bag and began throwing his clothes into it. There was no way in hell he was staying here much longer, not while Lucas insisted on telling him only half of the truth.

Nathan angrily zipped up his duffel bag and threw it over his shoulder, before walking angrily out of his bedroom and down the hallway. He paused only for a moment in the kitchen to scribble Lucas a note, telling his brother that he wouldn't return for a while. Nathan left out the part where he might not return at all.

Nathan sighed as he walked through the front door of the apartment and closed it behind him. He knew Lucas didn't deserve any of this, especially not right now with everything in his life going to hell. But Nathan needed a break from all the drama, all the insanity and just needed the chance to be a normal seventeen-year-old guy. Though, Nathan thought, most normal seventeen-year-olds didn't have crazy, abusive fathers, brothers with potentially fatal heart conditions and serious issues that were enough to drive even Oprah and Dr. Phil insane, girlfriends that turned down their marriage proposals, and best friends that were intent on screwing with said seventeen-year-olds' brother's heart. It was enough to drive even the most sane person insane and Nathan had finally reached that point.

Not quite sure where he was heading, Nathan walked down the steps of the apartment that had been his home for the past two years and out onto the streets of Tree Hill, carrying only a duffel bag and the clothes on his back.


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I do not own _One Tree Hill _or any of its characters.**

**Author's Note: I am sorry for the lack of updates as of late. I have been having issues with my computer, jump drive, the story itself, and everything else as of late and haven't had the time to finish this chapter and what I do have written... isn't that amazing. Hopefully I'll make it up to you all with the next chapter. Hope you haven't lost complete faith in me for this chapter.**

**Author's Note 2: I was going to edit this chapter some more, but when I opened it up on the Document Manager this evening, Hallelujah by Kate Voegele came on my iPod and I decided it was a sign that this chapter was finished.**

**Author's Note 3: Don't let the length fool you... this chapter is not amazing. It babbles on about nothing and I don't know why I even wrote it like this. The only person who really has anything to do in this chapter is Nathan... and he is barely in this chapter at all. **

**Author's Note 4: I know I said at the end of _Overdose of Pain, Onslaught of Reality _that I wasn't going to bring Keith back... but I changed my mind. Sort of. This babbling author's note will make more sense after you've read the chapter. Believe me.**

**Author's Note 5: Like the prequel to this story, after chapter 10 there will be an author's note. I just thought I'd give you all a heads up.**

**Read and review!**

**Broken Hearts and Healing Minds**

**Chapter 9**

Lucas jogged the rest of the way home, not caring if he got his heart rate up to dangerous levels. He needed to talk to Nathan, now, to find out what the hell was wrong with his brother outside of being seriously hung over. Nathan had been extremely pissed off only half an hour before at the river court and Lucas wanted to know why. He knew it had something to do with the fact that Lucas had yet to tell him about the fact that he was going through with the surgery on his heart, but Lucas also knew that it was something bigger.

Lucas raced up the steps to his apartment, finding the door unlocked, but closed as he reached it. He threw it open, hoping to find Nathan on the other side and already knowing that he wouldn't. It wasn't like Nathan to just stick around after an argument that huge. No, Nathan had already left, if his note that he had left was anything to go by.

-_Lucas, sorry about what I said earlier, but I meant every word. Until you start being more honest with yourself and more honest with me, I can't handle being in the same apartment. Not when your crappy decisions affect everyone, not just you. Tell Brooke that I'm sorry about prom, but I can't handle being in Tree Hill anymore. Don't worry about me, I'll be fine. –Nathan_

Lucas swore angrily and threw the piece of paper down onto the table. He curled both hands into fists, wincing as his injured one throbbed in protest. Somewhere in the distance, his cell phone started to ring, but he didn't care. Unless someone was dying, there was no way in hell he was going to answer it. Nathan was gone and it was all Lucas's fault.

"Damn it!" Lucas swore again, catching sight of the time. It was nine forty-five. The hospital was half an hour away; there was no way he would ever make it in time for his appointment. Not that he was planning on going now that his idiot of a brother was missing.

"Lucas, you home?"

Lucas started at the sound of Peyton's voice. They had just seen each other at the river court; what the hell did she want now?

"Yeah, I'm in here!" he called back, unable to keep the agitation fully out of his voice.

"What are you still doing here?" she asked, walking into the kitchen, carrying her cell phone in one hand and an envelope in the other.

"I, uh, Nathan got pissed at me and I wanted to try and find him before he did anything stupid," Lucas said, sighing and putting his head in his hands. "I was too late."

"Yeah, I know," Peyton said. Lucas looked at her, confused.

"You do?" he asked, incredulously. She nodded. "How?"

Peyton held up the envelope and set it on the table, pushing it across to Lucas.

"He stopped by my house a couple minutes after I got home. I didn't hear him. Brooke stopped by, looking for Stephen, and gave this to me. Said she found it on my door. I haven't opened it yet," she said.

"Damn it," Lucas swore for the third time. "Where the hell did he go? Why the hell did he leave?"

"Well, what were you two fighting about? Maybe that caused him to leave," Peyton suggested. Lucas shrugged.

"He was yelling at me for not telling him about the whole surgery thing the second he walked in the door last night," Lucas said. "I didn't think he would seriously leave."

He shook his head in sad disbelief of what had happened. He barely glanced up as Peyton put a hand on his shoulder.

"We'll find him, don't worry," she said. "But you need to get to that doctor's appointment."

"Shit!" Lucas exclaimed, jumping up. "Damn it, he took the car."

"C'mon, I'll drive," Peyton said.

* * *

Nathan sighed as he pulled onto the interstate. He felt guilty for taking the car, but he needed to get out of town quickly and taking the bus just wouldn't cut it. It was only a matter of time before Lucas realized he left and would start looking for him. Nathan wanted to avoid that conversation at all costs.

Nathan slammed on the brakes; barely avoiding someone's back bumper. He ignored the angry horn honking and the screeching of tires as he swerved lanes and stomped on the accelerator.

He was discovering quickly that it was probably not the brightest idea to drive while hung over. He had already nearly hit someone three times because he wasn't able to pay attention to the road due to the pounding in his head and he had to pull over twice to throw up.

Nathan heard his cell phone go off in the seat beside him. He didn't bother sparing it a glance; he didn't need to get into a wreck because of cell phone use. Besides, he had a feeling that it was probably Lucas or Peyton, wondering where the hell he was, where he was going, and when he was coming back. Nathan couldn't answer either of those questions right now, for he was too pissed off to care.

Nathan knew he was being immature by running away and he knew he was being an idiot for getting pissed off at Lucas. He needed to get away from everything that was haunting him in Tree Hill, though. His mother's death, even though it had happened over a year ago, was still the main subject for most of his nightmares and he couldn't take them anymore. Haley had been one of the main reasons he had been staying in Tree Hill instead of ducking out right after his mother's death like he had been planning on. Now that she was out of his life, the only thing that was keeping Nathan tied to Tree Hill was Lucas and Nathan needed to get away from his brother. They had been in such tight quarters lately that neither had room to breathe.

He had no idea where he was going, figuring he would drive north for a while until he made a decision. It was wasting gas and money he didn't have, but he figured that the car was going to die soon anyway, that he might as well do it.

Rain started falling steadily as he pushed the car up to the speed limit. The windshield wipers had always been crap on the piece of junk, but they worked well enough to show him the road and the cars in front of him. It was the bare minimum, but what the hell in his life wasn't?

Nathan needed to talk to someone, but was running out of options. He had tried talking to Peyton, but even his best friend wasn't enough sometimes. He needed an adult to talk to, someone who would be able to tell him everything would be okay and actually mean it. The problem was, there wasn't anyone fitting that description in Tree Hill. Dan was about as far away from a parent as one could get and Deb was dead.

Nathan turned on the radio, trying to find a halfway decent radio station. He soon gave up when the static made his headache worse and every station in the local area was determined to play commercials.

He saw a wreck up ahead and went to change lanes to avoid it. He saw the license plate on one of the cars and knew instantly where he wanted to go, who he needed to talk to.

* * *

Lucas was silent as Peyton pulled into the parking lot of the hospital. He barely flinched as she put a hand on his shoulder.

"We'll find Nathan," she said. "He won't go too far. He's just mad and needs some time to figure things out. He'll come home when he's ready."

"I know," Lucas said, sighing. "He was right, though. Everything he said, it was all the truth. He had every right to walk out that door. Hell, I would have done the same thing."

"We can worry about that later," Peyton said. "Right now, you need to focus on this doctor's appointment."

Lucas nodded, opening the door and climbing out. Peyton was close behind him as he walked into the clinic part of the hospital.

Lucas signed in and then sat in a random chair far away from everyone else. Peyton sat down beside him and picked up one of the magazines. She started flipping through the pages.

"Look at this! It says here that men ages prefer women that are under the age of twenty-five. Is that true? Do you think they'll like me?"

Lucas rolled his eyes as Peyton laughed at him, flipping through the pages some more. He was glad that she was here, even if it made things really awkward.

"Lucas Scott?" a nurse called.

Lucas stood up with Peyton close behind him.

"Hey," he said, stopping and turning around to face her. "I'm grateful that you drove me here and that you are here, but this is something I need to do by myself."

"I understand," she said, motioning towards the door. "Go ahead. I'll wait for you out here."

"Thanks, Peyton," he said, smiling slightly at her before turning and walking down the hallway.

* * *

Peyton was bored. Lucas had been in with the doctor for over an hour now and she had nothing to do. She had already read all the magazines within reaching distance, including the ones about fishing and camping. She was about ready to scream.

The door to the clinic opened, letting in a gust of cold, wet air. A rainstorm had started outside, making the already depressing conditions inside of the waiting room absolutely miserable.

Peyton looked up to see who was walking through the door, wondering if it was someone interesting. She was surprised to see Brooke walking in, looking shy and out of place amongst the crowds of people already in the waiting room.

Haley was right behind her, keeping a steady hand on her cousin's back as they walked towards the registration desk. Brooke grabbed the clipboard, said something to the nurse, and then promptly filled out the form with the necessary information. She handed it back to the nurse with a slight smile.

Peyton took a quick glance around as the two girls by the registration desk started looking for a place to sit. The only empty seats were near Peyton. She sighed, hoping that Lucas would hurry up with his appointment so she could avoid the going to be awkward situation that had presented itself.

Brooke led the way over to the hospital chairs at Haley's reluctance. They had obviously seen Peyton and Haley obviously didn't want to talk to her. Peyton wasn't sure if she wanted to talk to either of them at that moment, either, but it didn't look like she was going to have a choice. Maybe she would get lucky and they would both ignore her.

"Hey," Brooke said, sounding pleasantly surprised as she sat down across from Peyton. Haley took up the seat next to her and started picking nervously at her nails.

"Hey," Peyton said, deciding that it couldn't hurt to be nice to Brooke, no matter how much she wanted to kill her. It wasn't the other girl's fault that Stephen was a jerk.

"I wasn't expecting to see you here," Brooke said. She was in a chatty mood, something Peyton really didn't want. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah," Peyton said brightly. "Everything's great. I'm just here for a check-up. In fact, my ride's here."

Lucas had come out of the examination area with a packet full of papers and talking on his cell phone. He obviously didn't see Peyton, Brooke, or Haley sitting in the corner as he headed towards the door.

Peyton slid out of her seat and started walking towards the door. She heard Haley call her name and mutter something to Brooke. She wasn't that surprised to find the other girl stopping her right at the doors.

"What's going on?" Haley demanded. They both moved to the side as an elderly man with a walker moved through the automatic doors to avoid being run over. "Why is Lucas here?"

"How would I know?" Peyton asked, her bitchy side making an appearance. "I haven't talked to Lucas in over a month."

Haley gave her a disbelieving look, crossing her arms over her chest as she did so.

"And I'm supposed to believe that?" she asked, shaking her head. "I'm many things, Peyton, but stupid is not one of them. What's going on between the two of you? And where is Nathan? If it concerns Lucas, shouldn't he be here?"

"I already told you," Peyton said icily, hating herself for being so mean to her former friend. "I don't know what the hell you're talking about. Why don't you try opening your eyes every now and then and paying attention to someone other than yourself? You might be surprised to learn that things aren't always as they seem."

With that, she turned and stomped through the sliding doors and out into the freezing rain beyond.

Lucas was just closing his cell phone and leaning up against the wet car door when Peyton reached him. He was holding a small black object and the pile of papers in his good hand. His other hand, Peyton was pleased to discover, was incased in a thick white cast.

"Sorry I didn't come to find you," he said, shoving the black object and his cell phone into his back pocket. "I was on the phone with the police to report Nathan as a missing person. Turns out I have to wait another twenty-four hours before he's officially missing and until then, they're just going to sit around, drink coffee, and get fat off of donuts."

He was nearly yelling by the time he finished talking. Peyton stared at him for a moment, trying to figure out what he had just said. It had come out in such a jumbled rush that she didn't quite understand it all.

"Just calm down, okay?" she asked, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Nathan will be fine. He's emancipated, he's allowed to leave whenever he wants, and he'll come home when he's ready. In the meantime, you need to focus just on you, okay? What did the doctor say?"

Lucas took a deep breath and sighed. He ran his casted hand through his hair and closed his eyes for a moment.

"They gave me a pager," he said. "They'll page me whenever someone's available to do the transplant. Until then, I just get to sit around and wait. They also told me no strenuous activities, no basketball, and no near-death experiences until after the surgery."

Peyton smirked slightly at the added _no near death experiences_. She highly doubted that his cardiologist told all his patients that and had heard about what all Lucas had been through as of late.

"Did they say anything about you not being able to go to prom?" she asked, unlocking the car doors so they could get out of the freezing rain.

Lucas got into the car before she did and shook his head. He shot her a guilty look as she climbed into the driver's side.

"I'm actually thinking about ditching prom," he admitted. "I was only going because Nathan was going to go and now that he's not going… I don't know. There's really not a point in going, I guess."

"No! You have to go!" Peyton exclaimed, shocked that he would be thinking like that. "I can't suffer through two _hours_ of Stephen pining over Brooke by myself! I need some form of entertainment! And Haley's bound to be with Tyler Morrison and anyways, she hates me now, so there's no use in asking her! Please, Luke! Come to the prom!"

Lucas shot her a weird glance, as if he hadn't been expecting her to protest his lack on interest in going to the prom.

"I guess I could go," he said, shrugging. "If you want me to."

"I do want you to come," she said, putting the key in the ignition and starting the car. She pulled out of the parking space and headed towards the hospital exit. "So, where do you want to go? I'll gladly be your taxi cab for the day."

"I just kind of want to go back to the apartment," he said, turning and staring out the window at the rain falling outside.

"All righty then," she said, sighing mentally. He was in a bad mood, that much was obvious, and she knew him well enough to know that when he got like this that it was pretty much useless to try to talk him out of it.

"Actually," he said, his voice suddenly hesitant. Peyton spared Lucas a glance, raising an eyebrow. "Could we go to the cemetery? There's someone there I need to talk to."

To say that Peyton was shocked by this sudden request was like saying that the sun was cold.

"If you want to," she said, shrugging and trying to act as though it were no big deal. Lucas had never once shown any interest in going to visit his mother in the time she had known him. And from what she had discerned from Nathan yesterday, Lucas hadn't changed his views on that point either.

"Look, I know it's sudden and the weather is crappy," Lucas said, sounding apologetic now. "But, would you mind coming with me?"

"Yeah, sure," she said quietly, still trying to understand his sudden need to go to the cemetery. She had a feeling she would never understand, that she should just accept it for what it was and move on.

She sighed, flipping on the radio. Lucas wasn't in a talking mood and the silence would drive her insane if it kept up any longer.

* * *

Lucas wasn't sure why he was here, but couldn't help but feel a sense of peace wash over him as he crouched in the damp grass in front of his mother's headstone. Peyton was nearby at her own mother's headstone, murmuring something that Lucas couldn't quite make out.

"Hey, mom," he said, shifting nervously. He felt like an idiot for doing this. "I'm sorry I haven't been here. I've just been pretty busy, you know?"

He was silent for a moment, trying to think of something to say that didn't have him sounding like a dork or an idiot.

"I love you," he whispered, touching his good hand to the headstone. "And I'm sorry that you died because of me. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't remember what happened and regret that stupid fight with you. I wish there was something I could do to change it, but I can't. I just wanted you to know that I'm so sorry."

"She knows," Peyton said softly from behind him.

Lucas started; he hadn't realized she had walked up until she had said something. She placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"I know, but sometimes, I just can't help but wonder what would have happened if I hadn't had that fight with her that day," he said, looking away from her.

"You wouldn't have met me," Peyton pointed out. Lucas cracked a smile.

"I would have worked up the courage to talk to you eventually," he said, standing up and looking back at the headstone. "I wished you could have met her, Peyton. You would have really liked her."

"I already do," she said, smiling as Lucas looked back at her. "She raised you to be the person you are. And even if you are sometimes an idiot, I'm still glad you're around, Luke. Don't forget that I'm here, even if no one else is."

"I'm here for you, too," he said, taking her hand in his own.

They stood in silence, looking at the headstone, and letting the rain falling around them be their conversation.

* * *

Nathan parked the car in one of the parking spaces and cut the engine. He glanced around, feeling really out of place in his ancient rust bucket amidst the brand new Hondas and Toyotas. There was only one other car in almost as bad as shape as his and it stood out.

Sighing, he got out of the car and headed towards one of the apartment buildings. He climbed the stairs to door number eight and knocked, holding his breath as he did so. Part of him hoped that the person wouldn't be home, while the other part wished that the person was.

The door opened. Nathan rearranged his face into a smile as the person behind the door looked at him in shock.

"Nathan?"

"Hey, Keith."

* * *


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I do not own **_**One Tree Hill **_**or any of its characters.**

**Author's Note: I am a horrible person. I keep promising updates, but I never give them. And when I do, they never are what you guys deserve for sticking with me for so damn long. But I have to say that I'm back with this long chapter. It didn't turn out quite the way I wanted, but seeing as it's ten-thirty at night, I've had a long day, and have an even longer one tomorrow, I figured I might as well give it to you guys or just cancel the story. **

**Author's Note 2: I am so sorry, once again, for not being a better updater. I promise to have the next chapter up sooner then this one. If not, then you have the right to throw me over a cliff and shoot fire arrows down at me until I die.**

**Author's Note 3: I'm giving out one more chapter and then an author's note while I decide where to go with this story. Enjoy it while you can!!**

**

* * *

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Broken Hearts and Healing Minds

**Chapter 10**

Nathan accepted the keys Keith gave him and gave his uncle a hug. He was glad that he had come here to Virginia to visit the eldest Scott. He needed some parental guidance in his life, even when it was only a sarcastic comment about being a girl and a friendly game of basketball. It was nice having someone to turn to when things got too much to handle back in Tree Hill. He would miss it, but Keith promised that he would return to Tree Hill soon to check on Nathan and Lucas in a few months.

"Are you going to be back in Tree Hill in time for prom?" Keith asked. Nathan rolled his eyes and shook his head. That was one experience he wanted to avoid. Lucas probably wouldn't say two words to him, Peyton and Haley would ignore him, and Brooke would ramble on about her coming baby.

"No, Uncle Keith," he said. "I don't think anyone would want me there anyways."

"You'd be surprised," Keith said thoughtfully. "But it's your choice. Give me a call when you get in. And tell that brother of yours to drag his ass up for a visit soon."

"I will, Keith," Nathan promised. "In the mean time, it is a two way street you know."

"I know," Keith said with a smile. "It's been good seeing you, kid."

"Yeah, you too," Nathan said climbing into his car and starting the engine. He waved once more in Keith's direction before backing out of the driveway and heading towards the interstate.

* * *

Lucas wrung his hands together nervously as he checked the clock one last time. Brooke was taking her time getting ready and it was beginning to get on his nerves. He just wanted to go to prom, stay for an hour tops, and then leave quickly. Nathan had sent him a text message a couple of hours ago from a gas station saying that he was close to Tree Hill and Lucas frankly wanted to ditch prom so he could go talk to his idiotic brother and tell him what was going on. Only Brooke's bitchy mood and the thought of seeing Peyton were keeping Lucas from ducking out at the last minute.

"Lucas, relax," Brooke chided him from up the stairs. "We'll be there on time."

"Brooke, prom started five minutes ago!" Lucas called back. "We're already late."

"Only losers get there when the prom starts!" Brooke said as she came to the top of the stairs.

Lucas couldn't help but notice how beautiful Brooke looked as she began her descent down the stairs. She was wearing a strapless baby blue dress that slowly darkened into black at the end. Her dark hair was styled into a fancy bun that showed off her large hazel eyes. She was wearing a pair of strappy heels that made her nearly as tall as Lucas. She looked stunning.

"How do I look?" she asked as she hopped off the step and stood next to him. She looked anxious.

"You look beautiful," he said smiling softly. She grinned in return.

"Thank you," she said. "You look pretty dashing yourself."

Lucas rolled his eyes. He had rented a basic black tuxedo from the shop two days earlier and found a random pair of black shoes that were a size too small in the back of his closet to wear with it. He didn't even bother taking more then one shower when he had woken up that morning, which was getting close to fifteen hours ago.

"Shall we go?" Lucas asked eager to get away from the apartment so he could get this night over with already. He began to lead Brooke towards the car he had rented earlier in the week when it became apparent Nathan wasn't coming home anytime soon.

"Hold on a minute there tiger," Brooke said. "I want to take a picture of us together."

Lucas rolled his eyes and sighed. He decided it would be easier to humor her then to protest and end up putting her in a bad mood for the rest of the night.

"All right, but just one," he said.

Brooke squeaked in surprise and dug into her light blue purse and pulled out a disposable camera.

"Smile!" she said as the flash went off.

* * *

Lightning lit up the sky and thunder rolled somewhere in the distance as Peyton climbed out of the limo behind Stephen. She accepted Stephen's hand as they walked up the red carpet leading to Tree Hill High's gym, where the dance would be held.

"It looks like it's going to rain," he commented as he handed the woman running the gym entrance their ticket.

"So we're talking about the weather now?" Peyton asked grumpily as she followed him inside. She was being a bitch and she knew it, but she couldn't help herself. She had had a headache since she had gotten back from the river court earlier that day and it had been growing in intensity the longer she was awake. She wanted nothing more then to just go back home, pull on her favorite pair of sweatpants and just tune out the world with an old Boston record.

"Well, it was either that or comment on how lovely you look tonight, but I figured since you would bite my head off for even thinking that, I would go with something safe like the weather," Stephen said looking at her in annoyance. "I'm sorry if I ticked you off."

Peyton sighed. This night would go easier if she would just play nice with Stephen. After all, he was going out of his way to be a gentleman. The least she could do was try to enjoy herself. If only her head would stop pounding.

"I'm sorry," she said with feeling. "I just have a bad headache, that's all."

"Are you going to be okay?" Stephen asked. "I can take you home if you want."

He sounded exactly like Lucas when he said that. Peyton wondered if he knew or if it was just her. She wondered if that had anything to do with her agreeing to stay.

"No, I don't want to ruin your night," she said. "It's the least I can do."

"If it gets too bad, let me know. I'll take you home," he promised. "But thank you."

"You're welcome," she said as they stepped inside.

* * *

Haley brushed her hair out of her eyes and concentrated on not stepping on Tyler's feet as they twirled around the gym. She couldn't help but keep an eye out for Nathan. She wanted to talk to him, to tell him that she was sorry for screwing up his life the way she had, but so far tonight, she hadn't seen him. She didn't realize just how much she had missed Nathan until last night when she was looking through some old photographs and had found one that Peyton had taken a few months ago before the events with Ryan. She and Nathan had been really happy then. She remembered being able to talk to him about anything and not worry about him judging her or demanding reasons behind certain things. She missed just being in love with him.

"Are you okay?" Tyler asked looking down at her with concern in his bright blue eyes.

Haley nodded, smiling softly at him. He was sweet, had some semblance of intelligence, was funny, caring, and an all around nice guy. But he wasn't Nathan. And as much as Haley had wanted to, she realized that she just couldn't get over that huge factor.

"I'm fine," she said. "I'm just tired. It has been a long day."

And it had been. She had gotten up at five-thirty to her phone ringing. It had been Lucas, who had desperately needed to talk to her. They had met at the river court at six in the morning and he told her about everything; about his heart condition slowly killing him, about Nathan leaving, about being in love with Peyton, and even about Dan being a nice guy again. It had been a lot to take in, almost too much. The two friends had ended up spending the entire day together as Haley tried to take in what Lucas had told her. She had some major hang-ups, especially about the dying part. She might not have been a contender for best friend of the year, but she honestly didn't know what she would do without Lucas in her life. He had been such a huge part of it for so long, that if he died it would be like losing her arm or leg. It was unimaginable. It had been a relief when Lucas said he was going to go through with the surgery that would save his life.

When they had parted after lunch, Haley had gone over to Brooke's hotel room and had had an emotional break down with the older girl standing by. It had been exhausting, yet relieving. It felt good to just be able to talk to Brooke again, after going so long without being able to do so.

"You look lost in thought," Tyler said kissing her forehead as they did one last twirl and the song ended.

"I am," Haley admitted. She felt guilty for not being really talkative that evening.

"Be careful, that's dangerous territory," Tyler said with a smile.

At another time, Haley might have said something witty in retort, but it just wasn't happening tonight. She was exhausted and just wanted to go to sleep. The heat in the gym wasn't helping any, either.

She was just about to say something about it to Tyler when she noticed Lucas and Brooke walk in and join Stephen and Peyton at a table.

_This should be interesting_, she thought as Tyler mentioned something about drinks and left.

* * *

Peyton knew many things about prom from what her mother had told her and later her father. For one, his night was dreamed about by young girls everywhere. It was supposed to be magical, and special, a night they would never forget. They would dress in beautiful dresses and go out with handsome men. The after party was supposed to be the night for the more popular people, the ones with the steady boyfriends and girlfriends. It was supposed to be the biggest night in their high school career.

Secondly, it wasn't supposed to be one filled with dark glances and uncomfortable silences and too loud music. It wasn't supposed to be awkward and frustrating, both feelings Peyton was having at that moment as Lucas led Brooke over to where she was standing with Stephen.

"Mind if we join you?" Brooke asked, smiling sweetly. Peyton wanted to kill her. Drive a million hot knives through her strapless, blue dress and kill her. Rip that beautifully pinned brunette hair from the girl's scalp and watch in sick satisfaction when she bled out.

"Not at all," Stephen answered with a smile of his own. The look on Lucas's face made Peyton believe that he was having the same thoughts about Stephen. She almost smirked at the thought, but hid it well. She and Lucas weren't supposed to be talking to each other. As far as Brooke and Stephen knew, they hated each other for breaking one another's hearts.

It was hard to act as though the last couple of days hadn't happened around Lucas. They had really started getting close again, something Peyton had loved. She didn't want to act as though she didn't like him anymore, to be forced to ignore him the way she was and give him ice cold glares at random intervals to keep Stephen happy. After all, Stephen didn't know that she knew that he was in love with Brooke.

"So, where's Nathan?" Stephen questioned as they all sat down at a table. Peyton couldn't resist the swift glance she threw in Lucas's direction at the moment, to see how this was affecting him. It was going on three years of habit. Stephen saw the glance and soured instantly.

"He had to go out of town," Lucas replied, his face an unreadable mask as he sat as far away from Stephen and Peyton as the table allowed. He visibly pulled away from Brooke as she put a hand on his arm.

"Oh?" Stephen was a great actor. Peyton had to give him credit for that. His surprised tone didn't sound faked at all. Lucas was a better actor. At least, she thought he was acting. He might have been telling the truth. It was hard to tell.

"Yes, there was some family business in Virginia that he had to take care of," he said, adding just enough detachedness to the story that he actually sounded as though it weren't of any concern. Stephen seemed to believe him.

"Why are you still here?" he asked. Peyton could see the carefully constructed mask of faked friendship slipping. The real question was why the hell couldn't you have gone instead?

"It wasn't my family," Lucas answered. Peyton knew that was a lie; Keith was Nathan's only living relative in Virginia, and he was Lucas's uncle too. But she also knew that Stephen and Brooke didn't know that. It was the perfect cover for Nathan's unexplainable disappearance.

"Right," Stephen said with a nod. He leaned the chair he was sitting on back on two legs and slipped an arm around Peyton's shoulders. Peyton detected just the slightest stiffening of Lucas's body as Stephen did this. She made sure to shrug it off quickly and ignore the curious glances from Lucas and Brooke.

"He said he would be back on Monday, though," Lucas said, shrugging slightly as if it didn't bother him in the slightest. Peyton marveled at how amazing of an actor he really was. It made her feel honored that she had slipped through that act and been allowed to see the real him. She highly doubted many had. She doubted that Brooke had.

"It's a shame he had to miss prom," Stephen pressed. Peyton nearly shot him a warning glance, but then realized that it would kill Lucas's cover.

"Win some you lose some," Lucas said, shrugging again. He got up and pulled Brooke to her feet. "This is prom. I'm going to dance with my date."

With that, he walked off; leaving Peyton feeling slightly awed that that was the guy who truly loved her. Then she had a sour thought. What if that was an act too?

* * *

Lucas heard Brooke snicker as he led her out to the dance floor as an unfamiliar tune started up.

"What's so funny?" he asked as they began to twirl around the dance floor. Other couples moved out of the way as they passed by them.

"You," she said grinning up at him. "The way you played Stephen like that. The way that Peyton had to force herself not to look at you. The way you kept forcing yourself to be pleasant to Stephen and not look at Peyton. The entire thing was rather comical to me."

"Let it not be said that Brooke Davis is unobservant," Lucas said with a smile of his own. This was why she was such a good friend. Brooke had the power to make him smile when he was in a bad mood or in a funk like he was tonight. She also was extremely observant and saw things that were often left unsaid.

"You've got that right," she said with a smug smirk. "And by the way, Peyton is still totally in love with you. Stephen doesn't stand a chance."

"And I know for certain I don't stand a chance with you the way Stephen keeps staring at you," Lucas said knowingly. Brooke looked at him in surprise. "I know that you and Stephen have history. I know that he wants more and you're uncertain about it. I know, Brooke."

"Let it not be said that Lucas Scott knows nothing," Brooke murmured. "Was he really staring at me?"

Lucas laughed and nodded.

"Yes, he was really staring at you. The entire time. I don't think he looked at Peyton once."

Brooke looked happy and Lucas smiled.

"What else do you know?" she questioned.

"I know that you look stunning tonight," he said. "And that if I don't get a drink soon I am going to pass out and die right here on the dance floor."

"That is so not funny, Lucas Scott!" Brooke hissed smacking him with her hand. "And you know it."

"Oh, come on, it's a little funny," Lucas said hoping for at least an eye roll. He sighed as Brooke continued to glare at him. "Okay, it wasn't funny at all."

"You shouldn't joke around about your health like that," she said glancing away from him.

Lucas had the funny feeling that she knew everything about his heart condition and the fact that he was going through with the surgery. He didn't mind, though. She deserved to know. She was a good friend to him.

"I'll go grab the drinks then," he said. "You can go find us another table if you'd like. I'll find you, don't worry."

She smiled at him and nodded. He turned around and made his way to the drink stand, where Peyton was standing, cradling a cup of blue punch.

"If you're getting some for Brooke, then don't," she advised. "There's a little punch to that punch."

"Thanks for the warning," Lucas said, ladling some up for himself. He needed the alcohol.

"Are you doing okay?" Peyton asked taking a sip of hers and grimacing.

"I'm fine," he said. "You, on the other hand, look like you have a massive headache and are in desperate need of some Boston or Jimmy Eat World."

"How do you do that?" she asked. "Just take one look at me and instantly know everything?"

"I'm just that amazing," he said with a smirk. "Honestly, Peyton, I just know you. It's not that hard."

"I think sometimes you're the only person who knows me," she muttered.

"Stephen still bothering you?" he asked leaning up against the table and setting his cup down. It was weak alcohol and would only serve to make him sick in the morning. It wouldn't do anything to help along the party.

"No, it's more like I have too much crap going on and not enough time to do it," Peyton said. "I have two huge projects due in a couple of days, my dad is travelling more often now, and I'm getting some strange emails from a couple of unknown addresses. Frankly, it's getting a little weird."

"What kind of emails?" Lucas asked his smirk replaced by instant concern. Peyton didn't need an internet stalker.

"It's nothing," Peyton said with a wave of her hand. She smiled. "Though if I had known you were going to get this protective of me, I would have told you about them sooner. It's cute."

"Are you drunk?" he asked incredulously.

"No, not really," she said as she took another swig of her punch. "I just want to go home and sleep off this headache."

"I have a car parked outside whenever you want to leave," he said. "Just say the word."

Peyton nodded in appreciation as the song changed. Her eyes widened as she recognized it. Lucas recognized it as well. It was _You and Me_ by Lifehouse.

"Ironic much?" she asked with a smile. Lucas smiled back and nodded.

"Can I have this dance, gentle lady?" he asked in a fake British accent as he offered her his hand.

"Certainly, kind sir," she said with a grin and accepted his hand.

"This is going to sound really overused," he began as they twirled around the dance floor. "But I can't help but say it. I'm still in love with you."

* * *

Haley stood next to Brooke and Stephen as the latter glared out at the dance floor where Lucas and Peyton were dancing in perfect harmony to the song that was playing. Brooke's mouth was hanging open as she watched the two laugh as one of them stepped on the other's foot.

"I think I'm going to be sick watching those two," Stephen muttered to himself. Haley shot him a sharp glance. She was personally glad that the two brooding blondes were together at that moment. From what she had seen of the two lately, they were both pretty depressed. To see them laughing like that made her feel happy that they were happy.

"Haley, I swear if you grin any wider, someone is going to think you're up to something," a familiar voice said from behind her. Her eyes went wide as she spun around.

"Nathan?"

Haley would never admit to it, but she thought he looked more handsome then ever standing in front of her the way he was now. His dark hair was soaking wet, as was his simple white t-shirt and dark blue jeans. He was extremely underdressed, but he pulled it off. His blue eyes were sparkling as he smiled in return.

"Hi, Hales," he said. "You look beautiful."

She fought back tears as she bit out a thank you. Why was he standing here, talking to her and complimenting her?

"What are you doing here?" she asked. "I thought you were in Virginia with Keith!"

"I got back about an hour ago," Nathan explained. "And I couldn't resist seeing you, Brooke, Luke, and Peyton at prom."

"Hey, Nathan," Brooke said smiling as well. "It's good to see you back."

"Isn't Keith Lucas's uncle as well?" Stephen asked in confusion. "And what are you doing here?"

"Who are you?" Nathan asked.

Haley knew that Nathan and Stephen had only met once or twice before and neither time had been under friendly circumstances.

"I'm Stephen Burns," the blond said.

"Oh, you're the dick I haven't had the pleasure of meeting," Nathan said with a strange smile. Haley couldn't help but feel that this was going to end badly.

"Nathan? What are you doing here?"

The song had ended and Lucas had led Peyton over to join the small group. Tyler returned from a long drink run at that moment.

Sides were unconsciously chosen. Lucas and Nathan on one side, per usual, Stephen and Tyler on the other. The girls were caught in the middle. Haley's anxiety rose another notch as Stephen and Lucas glared at each other and Tyler eyed Nathan like he was seizing up an opponent.

"I'm debating whether or not to kick this guy's ass," Nathan said calmly while staring at Stephen. "He's caused enough trouble in our lives recently."

"Nathan," Peyton said warningly.

"It's nice to see you, too, Peyton. I like the dress. Green is definitely your color," he said. Haley fought against the urge to slap him. He was in a strange mood and needed to snap out of it. Now.

"Nathan, can I talk to you outside?" Lucas asked.

"Yeah, go talk to your boyfriend," Stephen taunted.

"Outside," Lucas said through gritted teeth to Nathan. "Now. Before I drag you out of here."

"Lucas," Nathan said. "Move."

"No. Get your ass outside, now. You're making a fool of yourself and of Haley, Brooke, and Peyton. Move it."

Nathan glared at Stephen and Tyler for a moment longer before turning on his heel and stomping away.

"As for you two, stay the hell away from me and my brother or I will personally kill you," Lucas growled.

"Is that a threat?" Stephen demanded glaring at Lucas. Lucas glared stonily back.

"It's a promise."

With that, he turned and stormed out as well.

"Peyton, you go after him and we're done once and for all," Stephen warned as the blonde girl moved to go after Lucas.

"Then we're done," Peyton said simply, before continuing her quest after Lucas."That was interesting," Tyler commented.

* * *

The thunderstorm was raging heavily as Peyton attempted to keep up with Lucas as he stormed down the sidewalk heading for the parking lot, but it was nearly impossible with his long strides and her in heels. The slick sidewalk wasn't helping either.

"Damn it, Lucas! Slow down!" she yelled. She didn't care that she grew strange looks from a couple making out on the school's lawn. She only cared about getting Lucas's attention.

It worked; Lucas slowed to a stop and spun around to face her. Peyton would never once admit it to Lucas, but at that moment, the look on his face scared the hell out of her. He glared at her for a brief moment before his gaze and stance visibly relaxed and softened.

"I'm sorry," he said sighing heavily and ran a hand through his now soaked hair. "Will you help me knock some sense into that idiotic brother of mine?"

"Only if you let me," Peyton replied. "I'm sorry about Stephen's asshole behavior."

"It's not your fault that guy is a moron," Lucas said closing the gap between the two of them and took her hand. "I promise I'll take you home after I finish yelling at my damn brother."

"Let's go find that damn brother of yours," Peyton said. "We'll worry about what to do with me afterwards."

Lucas raised an eyebrow questioningly but didn't say anything. Instead, he took her hand and together they started walking up the sidewalk towards the parking lot, both looking for Nathan.

They reached the parking lot itself with no signs of Nathan.

"He's probably on his way back to the apartment already," Lucas said sighing heavily again. He glanced down at Peyton, who was wearing nothing but a spaghetti strap dress. "God, you must be freezing. Here, take my coat."

Without waiting for her to protest, he slipped the coat off and slipped it around her shoulders. She smiled up at him as he did so.

"What?" he asked catching the glance.

Peyton blushed and looked away.

"Nothing," she replied quickly. "Should we go back to the apartment and look for him?"

"Yeah, I guess we should."

"Then let's go."

They headed for Lucas's car as quickly as they could, both not wanting to get anymore wet then they had to.

"You know that Stephen broke up with me, right?" Peyton asked.

"What?" Lucas asked his eyes widening.

"Yep. He told me that if I went after you tonight, then we were done. I told him that we were done," she said.

"You're amazing," he said. They stopped for a moment and just stared in each others' eyes.

"You know, this is going to sound really overused," Peyton began with a shy smile. Lucas let out a short laugh, knowing what she was going to say. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer to him.

"But?" he prompted.

She pulled away from him for a moment, holding up a hand when he protested. She wanted to look him in the eye when she told him that she was in love with him.

She opened her mouth to say so, but never got the chance to continue. A car came speeding around the corner and slammed into her.

"_PEYTON_!" Lucas screamed. He fell to his knees beside her, searching for a pulse. "No! No! NO!"

He glanced up as the car was thrown into reverse. He felt as though he had been punched the gut. The driver was Nathan.

* * *

Brooke was standing off to the side of the dance floor, watching as Haley and Tyler danced to the beat of an unfamiliar song. They looked as though they were having a heated argument about something. How she wished she could hear what was going on. It looked like it was going to be interesting.

She felt someone tap her shoulder and she turned, expecting it to be Lucas hoping to leave or even one of her friends that she had made at Tree Hill High. She was extremely disappointed when she saw it was Stephen.

"I know you really don't like me right now," he said holding up his hands in surrender. "But I just wanted to know if you'll have this dance with me."

At that moment, sirens could be heard coming from outside. Brooke instantly felt a jolt of fear shoot through her as she locked eyes with Haley across the dance floor. They both knew instinctively that the sirens somehow involved Nathan, Lucas, and Peyton.

The sound of screeching tires and shouting filled the now silent gym. The music had been shut off and people were staring in fright at the doors.

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I didn't put closure on this chapter on purpose. Especially the parts where people were saying they were in love with another. All will be explained later on. Read and review, though I know I don't deserve it.


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I do not own **_**One Tree Hill**_** or any of its characters.**

**Author's Note: This chapter might be a little bit of a stretch, especially if you haven't read the story recently… but I think it will work.**

**Author's Note 2: There are mentions of drug use in this chapter, so if you don't like it, don't read.**

**Author's Note 3: I updated!! Yay!! Okay, sorry… but you guys must be happy. Two updates in two days. Wow. That's an all time record for this story! Let me know what you think!**

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Broken Hearts and Healing Minds

**Chapter 11**

A car came speeding around the corner and slammed into her.

"_PEYTON_!" Lucas screamed. He fell to his knees beside her, searching for a pulse. "No! No! NO!"

He glanced up as the car was thrown into reverse. He felt as though he had been punched the gut. The driver was Nathan.

* * *

At that moment, sirens could be heard coming from outside. Brooke instantly felt a jolt of fear shoot through her as she locked eyes with Haley across the dance floor. They both knew instinctively that the sirens somehow involved Nathan, Lucas, and Peyton.

The sound of screeching tires and shouting filled the now silent gym. The music had been shut off and people were staring in fright at the doors.

The thunder and lightning dissipated by the time the juniors and seniors were allowed out of the gym to go home. Prom had been extended for another hour while the paramedics and tow trucks cleared the scene in the parking lot.

* * *

Rain was falling steadily as Brooke and Haley made their way to the hospital. They were both still in their prom dresses, not caring how ridiculous they looked walking down the street in high heels. They needed to get to the hospital.

Lucas had left a voice mail on Brooke's phone telling her what happened and to get to the hospital as soon as possible. Haley had received a similar phone call from Nathan, which surprised her. But neither boy said who was in the hospital, though the two girls knew instantly who it was.

* * *

Lucas stood at the edge of the river court, staring out at to the rain-swollen river and thinking about the night's events. A lot had happened between the time he woke up this morning and now.

It was getting close to midnight. Though the storm had long since left, rain was still pounding the cracked cement of the court. There were pools of water at the outer edges of the court that were deepening the longer the rain fell. Soon, the entire court would be under water.

"Is Peyton okay?"

Lucas turned, surprised to see Nathan standing on the opposite side of the river court. He looked drenched, but Lucas knew it was nothing in comparison to what he looked like at that moment.

"I don't know," he admitted.

He hadn't gone to the hospital with the ambulance. He didn't want to face the fact that Peyton might die. She had been in pretty bad shape when the paramedics reached her.

"I thought you might be at the hospital with her now," Nathan said.

Lucas shrugged and turned back to the river. He didn't want to talk to his brother at that moment; he was beyond any realm of reason when it came to Nathan at that moment. The younger Scott had run Peyton down without so much as hitting the brakes and didn't even stop to apologize for it.

"I'm sorry, Lucas," Nathan said. Lucas heard him take a few steps closer. "I didn't mean for that to happen. I didn't even notice you two standing there."

"It's not me you should be apologizing to," Lucas snapped. "I'm not the one you nearly killed."

* * *

Haley wished some days that she had never gotten up in the morning. Today was one of those days. It was nearing midnight, she was sitting in a silent hospital room, and there was still no word from Lucas or Nathan or about Peyton.

Brooke was sitting next to her, glaring across the room at Stephen, who was flipping through a magazine restlessly. Tyler was sitting next to him, studying Haley with an intense look in his blue eyes. Haley sighed and looked away.

The clock in the waiting room ticked by slowly as the distant sounds of thunder rumbled outside. Rain was falling steadily against the window panes. It was all that was left of the storm.

Haley shivered as someone opened up the door to the waiting room and walked in, bringing in gusts of cold air with him or her. She looked up, hoping it would be Lucas or Nathan, but was disappointed when it was a stranger.

"I'm going to go try Lucas's cell again," Haley whispered to Brooke. "Come get me if there's any news."

"Okay," Brooke said not even bothering to look up as the shorter girl stood and made her way over to the bathrooms for some privacy.

"_Hey, you've reached Lucas. Leave me a message,_" came the generic voicemail message. Haley sighed and hung up her phone. She didn't even bother leaving him a message; she had left him three already.

"No dice?" Tyler asked walking up behind her. Haley jumped, not expecting the sudden appearance.

"No, the idiot's not answering his phone," she said taking a deep calming breath. "I should probably go out and find him."

"Would you like me to come with you?" he asked. "Stephen won't miss me. Peyton won't, either, when she wakes up."

"If," Haley muttered darkly, casting her eyes to the ground. "If you want to come with me, you can. I've got to stop by my hotel room first to grab a sweatshirt."

"When she wakes up," Tyler said firmly. "Come on, I'll give you a ride."

"Thank you," she said.

They looked at each other for a moment. Haley couldn't help but compare him to Nathan. She knew it wasn't fair to Tyler, he really was a decent guy, but he just wasn't Nathan. He didn't have the casual stance, the concerned protective yet loving gaze; the slightly mysterious eyes that made him look as though he were hiding a dark secret… Tyler was too open. Too honest. Everything about him from the polo shirts he loved to wear to the way he carried himself screamed earnestness. It just wasn't the same. And though Haley knew she probably didn't stand a chance with Nathan ever due to the way she rejected his proposal, she knew that she had always been and probably always would be in love with him. No one else stood a chance.

* * *

Nathan glared at the back of Lucas's head, wishing for the millionth time that evening that he had never decided to literally crash prom. He hadn't meant to hurt Peyton, but it had happened and there was no getting around it.

"You're a dick, you know that?" he asked hoping for a reaction from Lucas.

Nathan knew it was stupid and possibly suicidal to pick a fight with his brother, especially when the elder Scott was livid about what happened with Peyton and Nathan just happened to be there. But Nathan didn't care about that. He wanted the fight more then anything. He wanted his brother to get pissed off and punch him. He wanted to be able to retaliate. For some unknown reason, Nathan wanted to get into a fight.

"I may be a dick," Lucas said his voice steely. "But at least I'm not an asshole who runs down his best friend in a parking lot and then throws the car into reverse and drives away without even bothering to check to see if she was okay."

"Oh, so I'm an asshole now?" Nathan taunted. "Is that all you've got? I'm an asshole? You've got to better then that."

"You self-conceited jack ass! Do you not even care about what you did to Peyton? You could have killed her!" Lucas yelled spinning around to face Nathan. "Do you not even care? Or are you truly a heartless bastard?"

Nathan should have been scared at the look in Lucas's eyes. It was beyond any known realm of anger. But Nathan ignored it and kept on pushing.

"Do you not care? Peyton's in the hospital and you're out here at the river court!"

Nathan saw the punch coming and ducked it easily. He let out a laugh and didn't feel guilty as he watched Lucas's face turn into an emotionless mask.

"Oh, defensive there big brother! You know I'm right!"

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Lucas demanded angrily, his hands curled into loose fists at his side. "Do you not give a damn that you could have killed Peyton? That right now she might be dead and you're laughing your head off?"

"Maybe," Nathan said knowing that it would make his brother mad.

He didn't see the punch. One second he was standing up straight and the next he was flat on his ass, staring up at the dark sky as rain pelted him with a bloody nose.

"I don't know what the hell your problem is," Lucas said shaking his hand. "But whatever it is, you better snap out of it fast before you get yourself hurt."

He began to walk away. Nathan should have left it alone, but the weird funk he was in urged him to get to his feet and tackle Lucas down to the cold, wet cement.

"You think you're self-righteous and so right," he growled as he slammed his fist into Lucas's face. "But you're really not."

Fear slipped into Lucas's eyes for a brief moment before it vanished. Nathan felt proud that he had put that fear there as he landed another punch on his brother's face.

"Get the hell off me," Lucas commanded pushing at his brother's chest with his hands.

Nathan did as he was told, jumping off Lucas and waiting for his brother to stumble to his feet before landing a swift kick to Lucas's ribs. Nathan felt perverse pleasure when he heard Lucas grunt in pain.

"You think you're so strong, but you're really not," Nathan taunted as he punched Lucas again.

He was surprised by the intensity of the punch that came out of left field and slammed into his skull. Nathan blacked out for a moment and when he came to; Lucas was standing over him with a worried yet pissed off look on his face. It was enough to send Nathan over the edge again.

"Don't act like you really care about me," he spat anger taking the place of pleasure. He didn't know why, but his moods were all over the place. He was past caring as he got to his feet.

"I don't want to hurt you, Nathan," Lucas said backing away. "I don't want to fight you. Not when you're out of your mind like this."

"I'm fine!" Nathan yelled kicking out with his right leg and connecting with Lucas's bad leg. He grinned devilishly as Lucas let out a groan.

"What the hell are you on?" the elder Scott demanded stumbling as he tried to regain his balance. Nathan threw another punch at him and laughed again as Lucas fell to the ground.

"There are many names for it, but my favorite is opium," he said. "It gives you that happy feeling inside and makes the world seem less problematic then it really is."

Lucas's face was beyond shocked as he stared up at his brother. Nathan laughed evilly as Lucas struggled to get to his feet.

"How long have you been on it?" he asked. Pain marred his features and somewhere, in the deep recesses of Nathan's mind, he knew it wasn't just physical. The elder Scott brother was blaming himself for Nathan's use of an illegal drug.

"Not long," Nathan said purposely not giving a straight answer as he decided where his next best target would be. He swung his hand back but Lucas grabbed it before Nathan could do any damage.

"How. Long."

"Long enough to realize that the people who made it illegal are asshats," Nathan said elbowing Lucas in the jaw as he struggled to get free from Lucas's steely grip. "Kind of like everyone here."

Lucas let out a hiss of pain as Nathan's foot connected to his knee, dislodging it from its proper spot. Still, the arms binding the youngest Scott would not let go.

"You're the asshat," Lucas muttered. "If you think opium is going to solve your problems."

"Oh and talking to you or that little bitch… what's her name… Haley- would? You've got to be kidding me."

"What happened to you Nathan? What happened while you were in Virginia?"

"Let go of me and maybe I'll tell you."

Nathan hadn't been expecting that to actually work, but Lucas instantly released the hold he had on his younger brother.

"You're an idiot if you think I'm going to tell you anything," Nathan said laughing as he raised his fist again and slammed it into Lucas's exposed stomach. The elder Scott brother doubled over, gasping for breath.

"Nathan, don't," he grit out as the younger brother turned to leave. "Don't do this to yourself. It won't fix anything."

"If you think I'm going to listen to you, then you have another think coming," Nathan said with another laugh. He turned and walked away, leaving Lucas in the pouring rain.

Lucas closed his eyes, trying to steel himself against the pain both physical and mental. How could he have missed the signs that Nathan was on opium? Was he really that horrible of a brother? Was he really that involved in his own life, that he didn't even notice the fact that his brother wasn't himself?

"Lucas!"

Lucas blinked and whipped his head around, instantly regretting the action when pain flooded through him. He barely managed to school his features and hide the agony as Haley walked on to the river court.

"Are you okay?"

Damn best friends. They always saw right through you and seemed to always know when things went wrong.

"Not really," Lucas admitted putting a hand on his chest and trying to relieve the pain. His anxiety level spiked when his chest tightened and it became harder to breathe.

"Relax," Haley was saying from far away. "You're going to be okay. Lucas? Just breathe. It's going to be okay."

He attempted to respond to what she was saying, but everything that had happened over the course of the past two hours caught up to him. He was distantly aware of Haley calling his name before everything went black.

* * *

Brooke sighed for the billionth time that night as Stephen finally put down his magazine and looked at her. He gave her what she thought was supposed to resemble a reassuring smile, but it came out more like a twisted grimace. She appreciated the gesture, though.

He stood up and stretched for a moment, before crossing the waiting room and sitting next to Brooke.

"You look like you need someone to talk to," he said.

"I'm fine," she said. "I'm just really tired. It's been a long night."

"Everything will be okay," he said. "Peyton will be okay. Your baby will be okay. I promise."

"How do you do that?" she asked yawning hugely.

"Do what?" Stephen asked with a small smile.

"Go from being such a dick that screwed things up royally to being a really nice guy who knows exactly what to say?" she asked blinking heavily.

"It's all apart of my charm," he said with a soft smile. "I really am sorry for causing all of this. I don't think I've said that enough yet."

"You're almost there," Brooke said with a small smile of her own. "A few hundred more times and you'll get there. It wasn't your fault, though. You didn't ask for Peyton to get hit by that car."

"It was still my fault that she had to go out there in the first place," Stephen said guiltily.

"Don't do that," Brooke admonished. "Don't blame yourself for everything. It's annoying."

"Even when it's true?"

"Especially when it's not."

They both stared at each other stonily. Brooke opened her mouth to say something, but the entrance of Dr. Richardson cut her off.

"Family of Peyton Sawyer?"

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Yep… double whammy of a cliffhanger. I figured I need to retake my title as Queen of Cliffhangers seeing as I haven't been around recently to protect it. That's what three cliffhangers in two days? I amaze myself sometimes.

**So… the author's note should be up soon and address some things that need addressing. Until then, review and let me know what you think!! **


	12. Author's Note 1

**Author's Note 1:**

**Note:**

**Well, first of all, I would like to say that I am officially back from my trip down into the land of writer's block. I would also like to say thank you for all those who haven't given up on me yet, even if I am a crappy updater. I hope these coming chapters are amazing enough that you keep coming back for more. **

**I am sorry for making you all wait so long in between updates. I have been so busy with my horse, writing my own story (which I'm still doing), and school that I just haven't been able to be on the computer and writing this story as much as I would like. It hasn't been fair to you guys, but I will definitely try to do better in the future, so long as you all will have me.**

**Cause For Celebration:**

**The biggest and most obvious: I'm back!! I know, you guys were beginning to doubt it there for a while with what a three month vacation from this story? But, I'm back and hopefully with better chapters then the first go round. **

**Secondly, I hit eleven chapters before I wrote this author note. I thought I'd go ahead and give you a taste as to what is to come before I break it off and start a brand new plot line that has lots of thrills and chills.**

**Third and finally, I finally figured out where this story is heading! At least for the next ten chapters anyway. After that… err… I might have to start digging into my brain and pulling more random crap out of it… But until then, enjoy everything you can get! **

**The Scoop:**

**Okay, so these chapters have been all over the place with emotions, the characters, and the plot. I don't think I actually committed to anything until the last chapter when I introduced Nathan's opium addiction, which is very sudden, I know. That's because up until about twenty minutes ago I had no idea where I was going with this story until I started writing the fight scene between Lucas and Nathan. But before I get into that, I thought I'd give you guys the background as to what has gone on, because it has been such a long time since I have written anything.**

**First of all, the wicked warlock of the west is dead! Yes, I mean Ryan in that nutcase of a metaphor from Wizard of Oz. I personally like the way I killed him off. It was dramatic and heartbreaking… or at least in my mind. Anyways, he drowned even with Lucas trying to save him. Oh well. That plot-line is forever and ever over!! Yay!! Not really, because I liked Ryan, but I'm glad it's over.**

**After that… Haley and Nathan broke up because Haley didn't want to marry Nathan at such a young age. Nathan kind of went off the deep end… and ended up going all emotional and girly. We found out in the last chapter that was more because he became addicted to opium then Haley breaking up with him. **

**Peyton and Lucas are in kind of that limbo state right now between relationships. They are both kind of unconscious at the moment, but it's really obvious that they are both in love with each other. When they wake up (or if they wake up… DUN DUN DUN!!) there is a serious chance that they will get back together. Stephen is out of the picture… he's too busy hitting on Brooke. Stephen and Peyton broke up during prom! Yay to all those Leyton lovers… sad to all those Brucas and Steyton(?) lovers out there. **

**More drama is to come in the form of flashbacks (what really happened to Nathan and how he became addicted to opium; Brephen (?) flashbacks; and even some random Lucas and Dan flashbacks because that storyline hasn't been killed several times over already. There is more to come so stay tuned!**

**Comments and Concerns:**

**The only comment I would like to make is that you guys are amazing for sticking with me so long! I feel so loved to have fans like you!**

**Songs:**

**No lyrics, but You and Me by Lifehouse won my mental poll of one Leyton song. It was mentioned in the prom chapter (chapter 10). More songs coming up in the next chapters… possibly… **

**Questions:**

**This is the section of the author's note that you all live for. Don't deny it, for you know it's true. **

**So… to start off…**

**What do you think will happen to Nathan? Death, rehab, another fight between him and Lucas… all of the above…? **

**Outside of my lack of updates, what has been the one thing you seriously hate about this story?**

**Where would you like this story to end up? **

**What has been your favorite part about this story so far? **

**What do you really think of Stephen? **

**What should happen to Lucas in the next chapter?**

**Do you think Naley should get back together? **

**What college should Lucas go to? **

**Who should die next in this story (cause face it, someone's going to die)? **

**Extra Stuff:**

**Once again, huge apology for not updating more! I will do better in the future.**

**Thanks to Lostand1TreeHillFan, wbsherse94, iLoveStupidShinyVolvoOwner, and RJMoonspelt4 for reviewing the last chapter. I love you guys! **


	13. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: I do not own **_**One Tree Hill **_**or any of its characters.**

**Author's Note: Okay, one thing you might want to know about this chapter is that no one except for Lucas knows it was Nathan who hit Peyton. Another thing is, no one except for Lucas knows it was Nathan who beat him up. So, keep those two things in mind while you're reading this story.**

**Author's Note 2: Third update in three days. I'm on a roll here. Hope you guys are enjoying it as much as I am.**

**Author's Note 3: I'm not too certain about this chapter… I rewrote it a couple of times and then had three other people read it before I decided to post it. If anything is confusing, let me know… for I went back and added stuff in when I thought I was done so it might not all mesh together.**

**Author's Note 4 (I'm determined to get the page count up to eight… I have seven and it's on the very last sentence on the page… he!): Nathan's not really in this chapter… but he is mentioned a lot… he'll probably end up being in the next chapter or the chapter after that as the main central character.**

**Author's Note 5: Read and review!!**

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Broken Hearts and Healing Minds

**Chapter 12**

Lucas let out a groan as he managed to wrench his eyes open. He immediately regretted the action when a bright light flashed before his eyes before dissipating quickly. Lucas blinked and the scene around him sharpened slightly.

He was in an ambulance, which explained the vibrating surface and the constant whining sound. There was an unfamiliar person standing over him, but Lucas was conscious enough to know that it was a paramedic. The bright light had been a flashlight.

"Can you tell me what your name is?" the paramedic asked before sticking something in Lucas's arm. The blond winced. "Sorry, but you're going to need the morphine. I've got to reset your knee."

"M'name's Lucas," he slurred wincing as he moved his mouth. His face felt swollen and bruised, as if an elephant had stomped on it. His nose was the worst; it was still bleeding and throbbing.

"Lucas, I'm going to need you to hold very still while I reset your knee, okay?" the paramedic asked. Lucas nodded. "On three, then. One. Two."

Lucas bit back a scream as the knee slid into place with a gentle _click_. Tears squeezed through shut eyelids and rolled down his face.

"You're okay, Lucas. I promise. You're okay, just breathe. Don't hyperventilate. Just breathe," the paramedic said.

"John, he's showing signs of going into cardiac arrest. We need to knock him out, now," someone else said.

"Shit, kid. Don't give up on me now. You're going to be okay."

The scene around him disappeared.

* * *

Dr. Richards smiled as he led Brooke and Stephen into his office. He didn't seem that grim about the news he was about to deliver, which put Brooke at ease instantly. If the doctor was smiling, then the news he had couldn't be that bad. Could it?

"You'll be pleased to know that Peyton is going to be just fine. The car that hit her wasn't going that fast, so damage was minimal," he said.

"How minimal is minimal?" Stephen asked. What sounded like concern and worry made his voice sharper then normal. Brooke knew he was still feeling guilty about Peyton getting hit by a car.

"She has a cracked rib, a fractured fibula, and a concussion, but otherwise, she is just bruised," Dr. Richards said. "Peyton will need a cast for her injured leg and to be as careful as possible for the next couple of weeks not to take any falls. She needs to avoid anymore damage to that rib, else it will break. She'll be able to go home tomorrow barring any complications."

"Can we see her?" Brooke asked hopefully. She knew it was the only way to get Stephen to calm down.

Dr. Richards smiled and nodded.

"I'll have a nurse take you to her room once she's settled. She'll probably be a little groggy; she's been through a lot and we have her on a lot of morphine at the moment. If she's asleep, please do not wake her. She needs all the rest she can get."

He was about to say more, but his pager went off. His eyes went wide and the smile fell off his face when he read the pager.

"If you'll excuse me, you're going to have to ask the nurse any more questions you may have. There has been an emergency and I am needed right away," he said. "Have a good night."

Brooke was relieved that Peyton was okay. She wondered where Nathan and Lucas were and why they hadn't come by yet. Lucas had been pretty upset in her message. She had expected him to have beaten them all to the hospital. He didn't even have the excuse of having to walk the two miles in the rain because the limo broke down and they needed to get to the hospital. But he wasn't there and neither was Nathan. It made her anxious.

"Peyton's going to be okay," Stephen said with a sigh as he wrapped an arm around Brooke's shoulders and pulled her close to him. He immediately let go once he realized what he had done. "Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to be so forward."

"It's okay," Brooke said feeling grateful for the warmth. She pulled his arm back around her shoulders and rested her head on his shoulder. "I need the comfort right now."

Stephen smiled and led the way to the waiting room, where Haley had just gotten back along with someone hadn't Brooke hadn't seen for a long time. It was Taylor, Haley's sister.

They were both thoroughly soaked and Haley looked as though she had been crying even more.

"Is Peyton going to be okay?" Taylor asked looking at Stephen with a raised eyebrow. She looked a lot like a dark haired version of Haley. It was unsettling seeing the two standing next to each other.

"She'll be fine," Stephen said a smile in his voice. "She'll be able to go home tomorrow."

"Hales, what's wrong?" Brooke asked. She shrugged Stephen's arm off and went to her cousin. "Peyton's going to be okay. Why are you crying? Where's Tyler?"

Haley shook her head and buried her face in her hands, her shoulders shaking silently. Brooke looked to Taylor in confusion.

"We found Lucas at the outdoor basketball court," she said. "He was beaten up pretty bad. He passed out when Haley called his name and he wasn't breathing. Tyler went home to get some things. He'll be back in a little while."

"Oh god," Brooke whispered sinking into a hospital chair next to Haley. "Peyton's going to freak out."

"He'll be okay," Taylor said. "He's strong and survived worse."

"You didn't see him," Haley protested. "He was in pretty bad shape."

"Where's Nathan?" Brooke whispered to Haley. She didn't want Stephen overhearing the question and it getting back to Tyler Haley didn't need that at the moment.

Haley shook her head.

"I don't know. He wasn't at the river court or at the apartment when we stopped by there before we went to the river court. I have no idea where he could be," she whispered back.

"I'll go look for him," Brooke offered. "I think I know where he might be."

She had seen him the day before he had left hanging out in the slums of Tree Hill. He looked pretty messed up at the moment. Brooke had a feeling that he would be there.

"No, don't go," Haley said biting her lower lip. She was trying to contain her sobs, but failing. "You need to be here for Lucas."

"So do you, Hales. You're his best friend," Brooke pointed out.

"How about we save Nathan after we check on Peyton and make sure Lucas is okay?" Stephen suggested. He looked genuinely upset about something. Brooke wondered if he was feeling guilty about Lucas too.

"Visitors for Peyton Sawyer?" a friendly looking nurse called.

"You two go," Taylor said pointing to Brooke and Stephen. "We'll stay here."

Stephen nodded and wrapped his arm around Brooke.

"Come, let's go see Peyton," he said. He had a haunted look in his eyes as he led the way towards where the nurse was standing. Brooke wondered what was going on.

* * *

Despite the pain Peyton was in, she felt better then she had in ages as she waited for her first visitors. She couldn't wait to see Lucas again and was certain he would be the first person in. She was disappointed when Brooke and Lucas followed the nurse into the room.

"Hey, Peyton," Brooke said quietly. "How are you feeling?"

"I've been better," she said. "But it's not that bad. Where's Lucas?"

She watched carefully as Brooke and Stephen exchanged glances. Her anxiety level rose as the silence stretched on.

"He's kind of indisposed at the moment," Brooke said at last.

"Indisposed?" Peyton asked fearfully. "Is he okay? What happened? Where the hell is he?"

"We're not exactly sure what happened, but no Peyton, he is not okay," Brooke said. Tears were visible in her hazel eyes that went unnoticed by Peyton as she felt tears sting the back of her eyes.

"Where is he?" she asked feeling the tears slide down her face. "I need to see him."

"He was just brought in," Stephen said laying a hand on her shoulder as she struggled to get out of bed. "We won't know anything for a couple of hours. But right now, you need to rest. You have just been in a car wreck, Peyton. You can't be up and jumping around."

"Get out of my way, Stephen," she growled pushing at his hand.

"Peyton, there's nothing you can do for him," Stephen argued. "He wouldn't want you to hurt yourself trying to get to him. Relax and just try to rest. We'll let you know if there's any change."

Peyton bit back a sob. Stephen was right, however much she wanted to deny it. But she knew that she wouldn't actually rest until she knew if Lucas was going to be okay or not.

* * *

Haley and Taylor were in the waiting room when Tyler returned. Haley attempted a smile at him, but knew it failed when she saw his sympathetic smile in return.

"Any news?" he asked as he sat down next to her. Taylor raised an eyebrow at them but said nothing.

"No," Haley said shaking her head and fighting against the tears. "Not on Lucas anyway. Peyton's going to be just fine… physically at least."

"Stephen and Brooke are with her now, right?" Tyler asked glancing around the nearly empty waiting room. Taylor was the only living soul in there aside from the nurse. It was two o'clock in the morning.

"Yeah, but they'll be back soon," Haley said yawning heavily. She was beyond exhausted and all she wanted to do was to take a hot shower and crawl into her bed and sleep. But she knew she wouldn't be able to sleep until she heard the news about Lucas.

"You can go home and sleep if you want to," Tyler offered. "I'll call you if there's any change."

"I won't be able to sleep until I know Luke's okay," Haley said. "But thanks for the offer."

"Any time," he said. "But sooner or later, you're going to have to sleep or you're going to make yourself sick."

"Yes _dad_," Haley said rolling her eyes at him half-heartedly. She yawned again.

"How long has it been since they brought him in?" Tyler asked.

"Bout an hour and a half, maybe more," Taylor answered as she picked up a magazine off the rack. "I'm Taylor James, by the way. You must be Tyler Morrison."

Tyler nodded in affirmation, but said nothing. Haley rested her head on his shoulder and sighed.

"It's going to be okay, Haley," he murmured in her ear as he brushed the hair away from her face. "Lucas will be fine."

"That's what they keep telling me, but I'm not sure if I believe it," Haley murmured. "You didn't see the look on his face right before he collapsed, Tyler. He looked as though he had just watched someone die. Then he collapsed. It was horrible. And the paramedics were really worried about him."

She fought against the tears that were threatening to fall as she recalled Lucas's agonized face. It had been heartbreaking to see, combined with the rain, the way he was standing, and the events that occurred just moments afterwards.

She was aware of Tyler wrapping his arms around her and pulling her close, but she didn't feel any comfort in them. She wanted Nathan. No, scratch that. She wanted her best friend to tell her he was okay, even if it was an obvious lie. She just wanted to see him without that look on his face. She wanted to see him happy again. It had been such a long time since he had been that she didn't really remember his smile. And now, she thought she would never get the chance to see him smile again.

"Family of Lucas Scott?" a familiar doctor called. It was Dr. Richards again, looking beyond exhausted in his blood-splattered surgical gown.

"Oh god," Haley whispered seeing the gown as she stood up with Tyler. "This isn't good."

The doctor had a grim look on his face as he led Haley, Tyler, and Taylor to his office. He shut the door behind them and gestured for them to sit down.

"What I have to say about Lucas isn't good, as you can obviously tell," he said. "It was sheer luck when you found him when you did, or otherwise, things would have been a lot worse."

"What's wrong?" Haley asked fearful of the answer. She was slightly relieved that Lucas wasn't dead, but the doctor didn't look too pleased.

"We'll start with the most basic things first. When he was attacked by that Ryan character, he did severe damage to his right leg. It was almost irreversible, but given enough time and surgery, it healed the way it was supposed to. Tonight, when Lucas was in another fight, the attacker applied enough brunt force to the leg that the already weakened area suffered even more trauma and also dislodged the kneecap from its proper spot," Dr. Richards said. He paused, letting the news sink in.

"What does that mean? Will Lucas be able to walk again?" Taylor asked quietly.

"It mostly depends on Lucas and how much will power he has to walk again," Dr. Richards said. "I'm not saying it won't be hard and I'm not saying it can't be done, but everything depends on him at the moment."

"What else?" Haley asked in a whisper.

"He received two broken ribs, a bad concussion, and a cracked sternum," Dr. Richards rattled off. "He also suffered mild heart trauma, which given his already poor health condition, made matters worse. He'll need heart surgery sooner rather then later. I have already notified the donors' list and when a heart matching his criteria becomes open, he'll be the first to go through with it."

Haley closed her eyes unable to think about the consequences that went along with that. It would mean that Lucas could die soon. It would mean he would have to face his fears of going under the knife sooner rather then later. It would mean possibly having to say good bye to her best friend. She didn't want to do that.

"Lucas might get lucky and not require surgery to his leg, but as of right now, it depends on how the bone sets and how well the knee heals. At any rate, I already had to do surgery to remove the pressure his injured ribs were putting on his lungs. I don't want to open him back up if I don't have to," Dr. Richards said with a grim look. He ran a hand over his tired face. "One thing's for certain, his basketball days are over, even without the heart condition."

"That's going to kill him," Haley murmured sadly to herself. She was trying to imagine Lucas without being able to play basketball, but was unable to do so.

"When will we be able to see him?" Tyler asked. Haley was mildly surprised that he was asking, but was in too much shock to say anything about it.

"He's in recovery right now, but when he's settled into his room, I'll send a nurse for you," Dr. Richards said. "Only one or two people at a time for right now and try not to put too much stress on him. He'll be pretty out of it if he's conscious. And don't try to wake him up, either. He needs all the rest he can get."

"Thank you, Dr. Richards," Taylor murmured. "We appreciate everything you've done for him."

The three stood and made their way back to the waiting room to begin their wait to see Lucas.

* * *

He felt as though he were floating on a cloud. He heard people talking to him from far away, but didn't quite register what was going on. He didn't try to, either. He felt happy, warm, and above all else, pain free. It was the first time in a long time he had felt this good.

He heard someone murmur his name followed by his brother's. He wondered what was going on, but didn't want to find out. It would bring him down from this pain free state of his. And there would be a lot of pain when he woke up.

"Peyton's awake … she has been asking for him," someone close by said. The voice was feminine and sounded anxious. "I don't know what I'm going to tell her."

He noticed that the voices were becoming clearer. The happy feeling was receding. The pain was starting to come back.

"What happened to him, Haley?" another person asked. The other voice was distinctly masculine and sounded exhausted.

"I don't know. I was looking for you two and I found him on the river court. He looked awful and then he just collapsed," the first voice said. "I called an ambulance. He wasn't breathing. It was horrible. I thought he died. And then, when Dr. Richards said that he was going to need surgery on that leg again…"

Their voices were becoming clearer. He fought against it, wanting to go back to that happy, painless state. But it was too late.

It started out as a dull throb in his lower leg and gradually made its way up to his head. Everything felt as though it were on fire. He couldn't help but let out a low groan as he finally opened his eyes.

The first thing he noticed was Haley, who looked nearly as bad as he felt. The second thing he noticed was Nathan sitting there.

"Lucas?" Haley asked sounding relieved. "Thank god. Are you okay? Wait, don't try to talk. The doctor said you should just take it easy."

"I'm…okay, Hales," Lucas whispered. His throat burned at the effort of talking. His head ached as he tried to recall how he ended up in the hospital. He remembered a car coming around the corner and hitting…

"Peyton?" he asked. "Is she okay?"

"She's fine, Luke," Haley said. "She broke a couple of ribs, a sprained wrist, and a concussion, but she'll recover."

Lucas nodded once and then instantly regretted the action. Pain seared through his head and he bit back a groan as he lifted his hand to try to relieve the agony.

"Are you okay?" Haley asked in concern.

"Now I know how H-Harry f-feels when V-Voldemort is close," Lucas whispered with a soft laugh. He winced as the pounding in his ribs made an appearance. He closed his eyes.

"That's not funny, Lucas," Haley said. Her voice broke and Lucas instantly felt guilty for making her worry.

"It's a little funny," he murmured. "So what happened?"

He remembered bits and pieces of what happened at the river court, enough to wonder why the hell Nathan was sitting there, but he didn't remember blacking out.

"I was hoping you would be able to tell me that," Haley said. "I got to the river court with Tyler and you just passed out."

Tyler. It wasn't Nathan who was sitting next to Haley, it was Tyler Morrison. Lucas couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, but wished he hadn't when his ribs hurt.

"I, uh, I was out at the river court when Nathan—he came to apologize about Peyton," he said as he struggled to remember what had happened. He couldn't remember much about the fight or how it came to be. "He t-thought it was his fault."

It was a lie but Lucas wasn't going to admit that it was Nathan's fault. His brother hadn't been himself. It was the drugs that did that. Lucas wanted to protect his brother.

"Was he the one who did this to you?" the Nathan-look-alike Tyler asked. He looked angry while Haley just looked scared.

Lucas looked at the two of them for a minute, debating whether or not to say yes. It was the truth, but at the same time, he knew that Haley would never forgive Nathan for what he had done. Haley might have been with Tyler at the moment, but Lucas knew that Haley had never really stopped loving Nathan. It would crush her to hear about how much of a bastard Nathan could be.

"No," he said at last. "He didn't. Someone else came after I asked Nathan to leave. I-I couldn't stand to be around him."

"Did you recognize the person?" Haley asked. She didn't seem to have noticed his hesitation in answering the previous question.

"No," Lucas said with a sigh. "I didn't. He was wearing a mask."

He winced; his leg was throbbing steadily. Haley shot him a sympathetic glance.

"Do you want us to leave?" she asked.

Lucas merely shrugged; glad to discover that it didn't hurt nearly as bad as nodding or talking.

"I need to go talk to Peyton and tell her you're okay anyways," Haley said wiping her eyes. "You need some sleep. I'll find a nurse while I'm out there and have her bring you something."

"Thanks, Hales," Lucas murmured closing his eyes as Tyler and Haley stood to leave.

"I'll be back soon," she promised leaning forward and brushing her lips against his forehead. "Get some rest."

The last thing Lucas heard was the sound of the door clicking shut before he fell unconscious again.

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Oh!! One last thing before you all leave to review and read other wonderful stories. I just wanted to say thanks one last time for reading this story. You all are amazing!! If you want me to read and review anything, I'll gladly do it. Just ask. It's the least I can do for everything you've had to put up with from me…

**Lo and behold!! I made eight pages!! Haha, sorry you guys had so many author notes… I was determined!**

**Review!!**


	14. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: I do not own **_**One Tree Hill **_**or any of its characters.**

**Author's Note: This chapter is just a tad unrealistic in parts, but I wanted Leyton fluff and stubborn Lucas, so here is what you get. **

**Author's Note 2: I don't know about anyone else, but I am personally loving Brooke at the moment. She is going to be an awesome teenaged mother (in my story, not the actual show BTW). Hope you all like her as much as I do. **

**Author's Note 3 (don't read if you haven't watched Monday's episode): Does anyone know if the movie production was cancelled for good or if crazy director dude managed to salvage it? I got confuzzled. **

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Broken Hearts and Healing Minds

**Chapter 13**

Lucas knew this was probably the worst idea that he had ever had as he struggled to swing his injured leg off of the hospital bed to sit beside his other one. He also knew that if anyone caught him at this, then he would probably be sedated and restrained for the rest of his life… or at least until his leg fully healed. He couldn't help it though; there were some things in life that one had to do by themselves. Going two doors down the hallway to where Peyton was by himself was one of those things.

Haley had left an hour ago with Brooke and Tyler to go in search of Nathan. Lucas refused to be of any help, feigning sleep whenever the three started talking about it. He wasn't quite ready to reveal to them quite yet what Nathan had done. It wasn't Nathan's fault entirely—it was just mostly his fault. Lucas knew he was being stupid, that they would only hate him for it later, but he wanted to try to save his brother by himself first before he asked for help.

Lucas grunted as he put weight on his injured leg. It wasn't anything too entirely unbearable at the moment, but he knew it was bad enough that he was going to need the wheelchair to get to Peyton's room. There was no way he'd be able to make it under his own steam.

"Code blue, room 343, code blue, room 343," the intercom in the hallway cackled. Lucas jumped at the sound of it, not expecting the loud noise. He let out a curse word as his ribs started aching again, but managed to take a calming breath as he hopped the last two steps to the wheelchair.

He slid into the chair with a sigh of relief. It was painful as well; the upright position put more pressure on his ribs, but the shooting pain in his leg subsided.

"Now for the hard part," he muttered to himself.

Getting to Peyton's room unseen would be a challenge, but Lucas figured he could handle it. He had handled worse in his life time.

He winced again as he used his arms to push the wheels of the chair toward the door. Why couldn't the hospital have automated wheelchairs that were easier for an injured person to move around?

He made it to the door before he was forced to stop to catch his breath again. His vision was spotted with black, but Lucas refused to stop. He needed to see Peyton with his own eyes, to make sure she was okay. It was dumb not to just accept Haley's word that the blonde was okay, but Haley hadn't been the one there right after the accident. She hadn't seen the things Lucas had.

Lucas was just about to go through the door when it opened from the opposite side. He swore loudly as he attempted to push the wheelchair backwards and ended up jarring his injured ribs.

"Lucas?" Stephen asked as he walked in. He looked bemused. "What are you doing?"

"Get out of my way, Burns," Lucas grunted. Stephen had left the door open, which would make it that much easier for Lucas to make it to Peyton's room.

"Hold on there," Stephen said stopping the wheelchair with the toe of his shoe. "You're not going anywhere."

"Try to stop me," Lucas challenged.

"Look, man, I don't like you anymore then you like me, but I don't need you dying if I can do anything to stop it," Stephen said. "You were within an inch of death last night, no joke, and you need to rest."

"I rested," Lucas said stubbornly. "I need to see Peyton."

Stephen sighed heavily and glared down at Lucas, who shifted uncomfortably in the chair. He winced as the movement made his head hurt again.

"Peyton's checked out of the hospital already," he said. "She went home to change out of her bloody prom dress. She'll be back here in an hour and she'd kill me if you weren't in one piece."

"You're lying," Lucas said instantly. Stephen raised an eyebrow. "She wouldn't have cared about a damn prom dress."

"How do you do that?" Stephen demanded. "How can you instantly tell that I'm lying?"

Lucas smirked but immediately regretted the action when it made his face hurt.

"Your left eyebrow twitched a little too much," he replied. "I'm good at reading people. I'll make you a deal. You help me get to Peyton's room and I won't tell her that you lied."

Stephen sighed.

"How about I get Peyton in here and you get your ass back in that hospital bed and forget about the damn blackmail?"

"No dice. I'm going there with or without your help. For all I know, you've dragged her dead body off into a dark pit somewhere."

"Funny."

"I'm serious."

They both stared stonily at each other before Lucas cracked a small smile to show that he was actually joking. Stephen sighed.

"Peyton is going to kill me."

"I might be inclined to stop her if you just help me," Lucas said with a sly smile. He sighed mentally when the effort hurt his face even more.

"Fine, you win," Stephen said. "But if Dr. Richards asked, I know absolutely nothing about it. And you are not to overdo it."

"Who are you, my father?" Lucas grumbled. He would never admit it to Stephen, but he was thankful the guy hadn't forced the issue. Lucas knew that in his state, he would never have won that argument.

"I hope I'm better then that," Stephen said honestly. Lucas raised an eyebrow. "Peyton's told me some things about your father."

"What kind of things?"

They were heading out the door. Lucas winced as they hit a tiny crack in the tiling. His leg was back to throbbing again from not being propped up on its pillows.

"You're more talkative then people give you credit for. From what I hear from people, you're mute."

"And you're nicer then I gave you credit for. I always thought you were a dick."

"Thanks."

"You're welcome."

* * *

Peyton woke to the sounds of snoring coming from beside her. For a brief moment, she thought she was back at home and the whole accident had never happened. Then she opened her eyes to a ceiling that was definitely not her own and was too bland to be anything but a hospital room ceiling.

She glanced over and was surprised to see Lucas in a wheelchair with one leg in a thick cast propped up on another chair. She smiled softly. It was so like him to be in here with her, even when he was more injured then her.

"He wouldn't let me get you and take you to his room."

Peyton started at the sound of Stephen's voice. She had been so focused on studying Lucas's tired and bruised face that she hadn't noticed Stephen standing in the corner of the room, leaning up against the wall and watching the two of them.

"Hey," she said quietly. She remembered the awkward way they had left things at prom and they hadn't really been resolved the night previous. She had been too upset about Lucas, who was clearly very much alive at the moment, though he looked as though he were in a lot of pain.

"I'm sorry about prom last night," Stephen began. Peyton held up her hand to stop him.

"It wasn't your fault. Anyway, we both decided ahead of time that we were going to break it off," she said. "It really wasn't that big of a deal."

"I really am sorry, though. If I hadn't said those things to Lucas and Nathan, then neither of you would have ended up here," he said.

"God, you're really annoying, you know that?" Peyton asked with a gentle smile to show that she was joking. "It's not your fault. It will never be your fault. Nathan has a hot temper and I made my choice. It was a freak accident. You couldn't have known it was going to happen."

"I'm an idiot," he muttered. "I shouldn't have set Nathan off the way I did."

"Nathan has been in a weird funk for the past couple of months," Peyton said. "You could have probably said the complete opposite of what you said and he would have still reacted that way."

"How do you know? You've barely spoken to him since you started going out with me," Stephen said looking puzzled. Peyton let the comment slide.

"He's still my best friend. And besides, Brooke is the world's biggest snoop," Peyton said smiling fondly. "You can't keep a secret from her. She'll find out sooner rather then later and then get pissed at you for not telling her about it in the first place."

"Is that a warning or just friendly advice?" Stephen asked crossing his arms across his chest.

"Both," Peyton said. "Keep secrets from Brooke and you're in for a miserable time."

"Thanks," Stephen said. "I should go call Tyler and tell him to get his ass back here with Brooke and Haley. They'll want to know that you and Lucas are going to be okay. You will be, right?"

Peyton shot a glance towards the still sleeping Lucas. He looked like he had been the one who had been hit by a car, not her. But she knew that given time, the injuries would heal and he too would eventually be okay.

"Yeah, I think we will," she said softly. "Go call Tyler."

"Take care of yourself Peyton," Stephen said as he moved to go. He shot a glance toward Lucas. "Take care of him, too. He's a pretty decent guy. More than a lot give him credit for."

"Yeah, he is," Peyton agreed. She hid her smirk as she saw Lucas's mouth twitch upwards, proving that he wasn't asleep. "I'll see you later, right?"

"I'll stop by before I leave. I have baseball practice at two today and coach will bench me if I'm not there," he said. "Bye, Peyton."

"Bye, Stephen," she said.

Peyton waited until the door was shut behind Stephen before she turned back to Lucas.

"I know you're awake," she said with a fond smile as his eyes opened and he blinked blearily at her. He was adorable with his tousled hair and sleepy eyes.

"Hey," he said with a smile of his own as he reached out his hand and took hers. "How are you feeling?"

"A lot better now that I know you're okay," she said. "You are, right?"

"I'm getting there," he said truthfully. Peyton smiled again.

"Anything I can do to help?" she asked.

"Just keep doing what you're doing now and I'll be just fine," he said. "And don't get hit by any more crazy half-brothers."

Peyton felt shock run through her as Lucas's eyes fell shut again and he started snoring softly. Nathan was the one who hit her?

* * *

Stephen ran into a frantic Dr. Richards as he made his way through the maze of hallways back to the waiting room.

"Stephen! Have you seen Lucas Scott anywhere? He needs his medication and my nurses can't find him," he said.

"Relax, doc," Stephen said placing a steadying hand on the doctor's shoulder. He was a friend of Dr. Richards; his mother had been dating the doctor since they had met each other in the emergency room when Kayla had broken her arm. "Lucas is in with Peyton."

"Those two are so in love I don't think even Shakespeare could write anything about it," Dr. Richards said with a sigh. He shot a sympathetic look toward Stephen. "Sorry. I know you and Peyton were close."

"Ah, it's okay. I'm over it," Stephen said honestly as he shifted his weight from foot to foot. As much as he liked Dr. Richards, the guy made him a little nervous.

"Thanks for your help, Stephen," Dr. Richards said. "I'll let my nurses know where Lucas is in a little while. His medication can wait. Oh, are you on your way to call Tyler?"

"Yeah, I am actually," Stephen said. "Why?"

"Tell him to bring Brooke and Haley," Dr. Richards said with a grin. "And Nathan too, if they can find him. I think I have some good news about Lucas."

"Want to share with the rest of the class doc?" Stephen asked with a raised eyebrow.

"You can wait. I don't want you spoiling the surprise," Dr. Richards shot back with a smile. "Go on. Pass along the message, please. And if you go home at any point today, tell your mother that I'll be home late again tonight."

"Okay," Stephen said. "See ya, doc."

"Bye, Stephen," Dr. Richards said.

* * *

Nathan felt as though he had just been hit in the head with a lead baseball bat. He groaned as he forced his eyelids open and looked around. He didn't recognize where he was at first. He was outside, underneath a tree, and soaking wet. There was a rushing sound in the distance, which sounded like a river.

He let out another groan as he struggled to his feet. He didn't know what happened between leaving the gas station and now, but he felt as though something went wrong.

"Nathan!" he heard someone yell. It sounded like Brooke, but why would Brooke be looking for him? How did Brooke even know he was back from Virginia? He didn't even remember talking to anyone last night.

"Nathan?" he heard someone else yell from nearby. It sounded like Haley, which confused Nathan even more. Why would Haley be out here? She hated him. Or he hated her. Nathan wasn't sure which was which anymore.

"Nathan, what the hell are you doing out here? And where the hell have you been?" someone demanded.

Nathan blinked and turned around. He blinked again as he fought against the urge to throw up all over Haley at the movement.

"Hales?" he croaked.

"You look awful, Nate," she commented with her hands on her hips. "Come on, we need to get you back to the apartment and cleaned up. Maybe then you can tell me what happened last night."

Nathan was puzzled—he distantly remembered seeing Haley last night. She had looked beautiful in a dark red dress with her hair done up fancily. It had been at prom, he remembered with a start.

"Haley? Did you find him?" Brooke called from up ahead.

"Yeah, I did. Tell Stephen to call Taylor," Haley yelled back.

Nathan winced as her sharp voice made his head throb even more.

"Could you keep it down?" he whispered. "I kind of have a headache."

"I'm not surprised," Haley said with a sigh. "You must have been drinking pretty hard last night to be this confused. Not that I blame you for drinking, especially after what happened to Lucas and Peyton."

"What happened to Lucas and Peyton?" Nathan demanded. Something didn't feel right. He felt as though there was a vital piece of information missing here.

"Peyton got hit by a car after prom last night," Haley said looking confused. "You were the one who told me about it in the first place. Are you okay?"

Nathan felt as though he was about to throw up again as bits and pieces of last night came rushing back to him. He remembered getting into a car after prom, speeding around a turn, and feeling a thump as the car connected with someone. He had been shocked to see Peyton lying on the ground and sped off, not wanting to face the horror he had caused. He had seen Lucas's face as the elder Scott brother realized what Nathan had done.

Nathan couldn't help but lean over and retch what little food he had in his system all over the ground. He felt Haley put a hand on his shoulder as he threw up again.

"What happened to Lucas?" he asked taking a deep breath. The world seemed to stay where it was for the time being.

"I'm not really sure. He mentioned something about being beaten up when he woke up earlier, but he didn't seem to be too clear on what happened," Haley said. She looked upset again.

"Is he going to be okay?"

Nathan hoped that his brother was. He didn't know how he was going to handle things if his brother wasn't there to help him.

One look at Haley's face made Nathan feel like hurling again. She looked as though she was about to start crying.

"Nathan! Where the hell have you been?"

Brooke's sharp voice made Nathan look away from Haley. The older girl was standing among the trees, hands on her hips and glaring at him. Nathan had a strange sense that she knew something about him, something that Haley didn't know.

"I, uh, thought it was a nice night to sleep under the stars," he said. Brooke shot him a disbelieving look.

"Guys, don't fight," Haley begged. "I'd like to get back to the hospital to tell Lucas we found his idiot of a brother."

Hospital. At the word, Nathan shuddered. He couldn't shake the feeling that it was his fault that Lucas was there. But he couldn't remember how.

"Holy shit," Brooke said her hazel eyes widening as she looked at Nathan's fist. "What the hell happened to your hand?"

"Brooke!" Haley exclaimed shocked at her cousin's outburst. Nathan looked blankly at his hand, surprised to find it swollen and bruised. It didn't hurt in the slightest, however.

"I, uh, don't really remember," he said swallowing hard. He wondered what else he didn't remember. It was starting to scare him. The last thing Nathan really truly remembered outside of bits and pieces of the car accident was his last dose of opium. He wasn't about to admit that to Haley and Brooke, however. He might as well sign his death warrant for the kind of reactions he would get for that.

"Huh," Brooke said with a disbelieving click of her tongue. Nathan got that feeling that she knew more then she was letting on again.

"Haley? Brooke?" another voice called from the path. It was deeper, more masculine then Brooke and Haley's. Nathan couldn't place the voice until Tyler walked through the trees.

"Hey, Tyler," Haley said looking at the other guy with a look of relief in her eyes. Nathan felt a surge of jealousy shoot through him and fought back the urge to wipe that concerned gaze off of the baseball player's face. He winced as he unconsciously curled his injured hand into a fist.

"Dude, where have you been? We've been looking for you for hours now," Tyler said as he spotted Nathan. "And how the hell did you break your knuckles? Were you in a bar fight or something?"

Nathan distantly remembered rain and thunder, followed by a lot of yelling and sounds of fighting.

"Something like that," he said evasively.

Tyler looked at Nathan for a moment and then shrugged.

"I just got a phone call from Stephen. He's at the hospital with Peyton and Lucas right now. He says we should get back there pretty soon," he said.

Haley's face visibly paled and Nathan fought the urge to wrap his arm around her. She belonged to Tyler now, as much as it hurt him to think about it. And Tyler was doing the exact thing that Nathan wanted to be doing at the moment. Nathan didn't think it was ever possible to hate a person as much as he hated Tyler, except for maybe Dan and Ryan.

"He said that Dr. Richards had some good news," Tyler said. "But he wanted to talk to all of us. And he said that it would be a good idea if we could find Nathan… which we did."

Nathan rolled his eyes, instantly regretting the action as it made his headache even worse. He felt as though he were about to throw up again.

"Dude, if you need to hurl, please do it now," Tyler said with a wary glance in Nathan's direction. "I don't want you ruining my car."

Nathan glowered at the other teen, wanting badly to wipe that smirk off of the baseball player's face.

"We should just go," Brooke muttered seeing the look on Nathan's face. "I want to make sure Lucas hasn't murdered Stephen. Yet, anyways."

"Lead on, fearless leader," Nathan said sarcastically to Tyler who merely sighed heavily and took the lead back to where he parked his car.

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I would remind y'all to review, but y'all are totally awesome at that anyways!!


	15. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: I do not own **_**One Tree Hill**_** or any of its characters.**

**Author's Note: This is by far my least favorite chapter. I had a lot of issues writing it and the only scene I actually like is the one where Brooke is yelling at Nathan. Oh well… I'll do better with the next one. **

**Author's Note 2: There's going to be a time jump in the next chapter… just so you all are forewarned. **

**Author's Note 3: Reviews are welcome, but not necessary if you don't want to.**

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Broken Hearts and Healing Minds

**Chapter 14**

Lucas sighed softly as he opened his eyes. He was in a world of pain, but all that faded the moment he saw a pair of beautiful green eyes staring back at him.

"Hey, sleeping beauty," Peyton said with a soft laugh. She looked anxious about something, even through her laughter. "How are you feeling?"

"Better, now that I'm awake and am seeing you again," he replied. Lucas refused to let on how much his ribs and leg were killing him. He didn't want to see her good mood vanish.

"There's a rumor going around that you're going to have a new heart in a couple of weeks," Peyton said. The anxious look was more prominent this time around as she studied him carefully with her emerald eyes.

"Joy," he murmured his mind drifting for a moment. He was getting a new heart. He would no longer have to worry about his HCM. No one would have to worry about him any more. He could be free.

"What's wrong?" Peyton asked.

Lucas smiled softly, blinking as he did so.

"It's nothing. I'm just… stunned, I guess," he said honestly. "My whole life is going to change now."

"For the better though," she said. "You'll be able to do anything you want."

"Except play basketball," Lucas said wistfully. He knew, without being told, that his leg was too badly damaged for him to be able to ever play basketball again. Hell, he knew he would be lucky if he walked again.

"Maybe," Peyton said stubbornly. "Maybe there's a chance you can."

"Be realistic Peyton," Lucas said. "As much as I'd love to, my leg is too screwed up. I would never be able to do it."

"Not with that attitude you wouldn't," Peyton said. "I've seen you do some pretty amazing things, Lucas. You're stubborn. If you want to play basketball again, then you will."

Lucas sighed softly, looking away from her. He ran a hand through his hair and winced as the movement jarred his aching ribs. Sleeping in a wheelchair really didn't agree with him.

"I'm not sure what I want right now Peyton," he admitted honestly.

He heard Peyton sigh and shift her weight around on the hospital bed. Lucas couldn't help but envy her; his muscles were cramped and sore; his injuries twice as painful as they had been when he had woken up.

"Nathan stopped by earlier," Peyton said hesitantly. She was watching him carefully, a feeling Lucas didn't really like. He made sure to control his face, to hide the sudden rush of anger and sadness that welled up inside him.

"Oh?"

It was lame, but Lucas wasn't positive if he could handle speaking more then one word at a time.

"He looked awful," she said. "And he kept casting nervous glances toward you, as if you were going to wake up and start yelling at him or something. He left pretty quickly."

"Huh," Lucas said dumbly. "I wonder why that is."

"I was hoping you could tell me that."

The anxiety he had sensed earlier was back. Her green eyes were worried and slightly angry at the same time.

"I don't know what you mean," Lucas lied. He had a feeling that he might have let something slip when he was falling asleep earlier.

"Lucas, I am many things, but stupid is not one of them," Peyton said sharply. "I know when I'm being lied to."

Lucas sighed heavily, wincing when the effort made his ribs ache.

"What do you know already?" he asked. He didn't want to lie to Peyton; not when he had just gotten her back in his life again. Honesty was always the best policy, right?

"You mentioned something about not getting hit by crazy half brothers earlier," Peyton said. The nervous look was back. "What did you mean by that? Was Nathan the one… was he the one who hit me?"

Lucas blinked and looked away, nodding after a few moments' pause.

"Yeah," he said around the lump in his throat. He could not get the image out of his head—the one of an emotionless Nathan as the youngest Scott threw the car into reverse after hitting Peyton… and then driving away.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Peyton asked.

"I just did," Lucas said defensively. He refused to look at her.

He heard Peyton sigh.

"Was he the one who beat you up?"

Lucas tensed, ignoring the pain that screamed through his muscles as he did so. How could she draw that connection so quickly?

"It wasn't him, Peyton."

"Lucas…"

"I mean it was him physically, but Peyton, he wasn't himself. He didn't mean to beat me up. Well, kind of, but it wasn't him."

"What do you mean?"

"He told me that he was on something. It was the most truthful thing he said to me all night."

"How could you tell that he wasn't lying?"

She didn't want to believe him. Lucas couldn't blame her, either. Nathan was the strong one. He was the white knight. He rarely did anything wrong, except for blowing things out of proportion with Haley in that relationship. Nathan was never the one who was into drugs. That had been Lucas's thing.

"If you had seen him Peyton, then there would have been no questioning it. He was on something. The way his moods kept swinging… and the way he acted. It wasn't him, Peyton."

"Have you told Haley?"

"No. And I don't plan on telling her either. Not unless I can't help him myself."

"She deserves to know. She's still in love with him, you know. She'll hate you if you don't let her help."

"I—I don't want her to see him like that. I don't want her to get hurt."

_I don't want her to get killed_, Lucas thought. He knew that Nathan was more than capable of killing someone when he was using. The way he had nearly killed Lucas, his own brother, the night before was proof of that.

"Lucas—."

"No, Peyton. I don't want her to know. Not unless things get really bad."

"He tried to kill you, Lucas, and damn near succeeded. You might have been unconscious for that whole part, but you barely made it. It's a freaking miracle that you're even conscious right now. Things are already really bad. What is it going to take for you to tell Haley and let her help? Does Nathan have to kill someone for that to happen? Because I'm not about to stand by and let that happen!"

"I want a chance to help him first," Lucas said stubbornly.

"Oh yeah? And how the hell are you planning on doing that?" Peyton demanded. She was pissed at him, which Lucas understood, but he wasn't about to change his mind.

"I know a few things about drug use," he said. "I have a plan."

"And this plan involves keeping Haley in the dark and putting you in the line of fire? You're going to have heart surgery in less than two weeks, Lucas. You can't be doing this to yourself. You need to let Haley help you. She's the only one who will be able to really reach him."

"Peyton, do you really want to put Haley in a position where she can get herself killed?"

"This is going to sound really cruel, but over you? Hell yes. I can survive without friends, Luke. I can't survive without you."

"You have before."

"Oh, get over that already. You were pissed at me and I knew you were still living. I knew that eventually we would both get over those things and get back together. But if you die? I wouldn't be able to stand it. I love you, Lucas, and I don't want anything more happening to you than what already has. You need to let Haley help you with this."

"I love you, too, Peyton," Lucas murmured, reaching out and taking her hand in his. "And I promise you, that if I can't get Nathan off of his dependency on that damn opium, then I will talk to Haley. But only after I try to do this myself."

"You don't have to do everything yourself, you stubborn ass," she pointed out. "It's okay to ask for help every once in a while."

"I—this is something I need to do," Lucas said. "It's hard to explain, but I need to do this."

"If you get yourself killed Lucas Scott, I will bring you back and kill you myself," Peyton said bitterly. Lucas could see the tears in her eyes and felt guilty for putting them there. He refused to change his mind.

"I'm counting on it," he murmured leaning forward and kissing her forehead. "I love you, you know."

"I love you too, you stubborn idiot," she muttered.

* * *

Brooke waited until Haley, Tyler, and Stephen had left the hospital before approaching Nathan. She had a few things she wanted to get straight with him without an audience.

Nathan was pulling a Styrofoam cup full of steaming coffee out of the dispenser when Brooke marched up to him and tapped his shoulder. He spun around, nearly spilling the coffee all over the place as he did so.

"What the hell, Brooke?" he demanded holding the cup out to balance himself. "Are you trying to kill me?"

Brooke took one look at his pale, sweaty face and dilated eyes and knew that her suspicions were correct. She had seen countless of druggies in the motel she was staying at and knew the signs of when someone was using. Extreme mood swings, constant lurking, sweating profusely, and pale faces were some. Extreme acts of violence, dilated eyes, and constant paranoia were others.

"What the hell have you been using?" she demanded. "I know you have, so don't try to lie to me. I've seen you in the slums."

Nathan set his coffee cup on the dispenser and stared at her through bloodshot eyes. He had an eyebrow raised questioningly.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," he said blinking. "I'm not using anything."

The lie might have been believable, except for the fact that he turned to pick up his coffee and Brooke saw the syringe and needle sticking out of his back pocket. She quickly grabbed it from his pocket and held it up to his face before he could protest.

"This is definitely something," she said angrily.

He looked as though he were about to say something, but she cut him off. Anger and disappointment made her voice lower and harsher then she intended, but Brooke was past caring.

"Look, I don't care if you want to off yourself or if you are so messed up in the head that you think opium is the answer to your problems," she growled. She had seen one too many cop shows not to recognize the substance in the vile instantly. "But running over Peyton and beating up Lucas is going too far. You need help, Nathan. You need to stop using. You're going to get yourself killed."

"And who the hell do you think you are?" Nathan demanded angrily, pushing her shoulders hard. Brooke stumbled backwards but refused to back down. "You have no idea what the fuck I'm going through right now. You don't even know me. So don't act like you can just barge in and tell me how to run my life."

"I know enough about you and your life to tell you that you shouldn't do this to yourself," Brooke said pushing back. "That the people around you deserve better then the way you're treating them. I know enough to know that you deserve better than this."

"And how the hell do you know that?" Nathan demanded angrily. He was taller then she and was using his height advantage to glare down at her. Brooke glared right back at him, refusing to let his height deter her.

"You earned a basketball scholarship," she said. "If word gets out that you are using opium, then that goes out the window. Your entire _future_ goes out the window."

"I don't really care anymore, Brooke," Nathan said. The fight was suddenly gone from his face and he looked away from her. "I will never leave Tree Hill, so what's the point of trying?"

Brooke was shocked. She took a few steps back and stared at him in disbelief.

"You can't mean that," she said. "You can't."

"Why the hell not?" he demanded.

The fight was back. Brooke shook her head, trying to stop the tears that were forming as she realized just how messed up he really was.

"You're Nathan Scott," she said. "Tree Hill's best basketball player. The only person I know who has _never _given up on anything. Not even when it looked as though things weren't going to work out, you never gave up. Until now, because you're scared."

"I'm not scared," he protested.

Brooke rolled her eyes.

"You're scared. You're scared of losing your brother, you're scared of losing Haley for good, you're scared of not being able to make it in college basketball, you're scared, Nathan! And until you realize that, you're never going to be able to fight this."

"Who says I want to?"

"If you don't, then you _will_ lose everything. And it's about time you pull your head out of your ass and realize it. You've been using this damn opium as a crutch for too long."

"I'm not going to stop just because you say I need to. I don't care what you think. I don't care what the hell anyone thinks. It's a free country and I'm allowed to make my own damn choices."

"Fine. You don't want help? Fine. I'm not going to get in your way any longer. But know this. If you continue to use that opium, then it's going to come back and bite you in the ass. I'll make sure of it."

With that, Brooke turned on her heel and stomped out of the hospital.

* * *

Nathan shook with anger as he grabbed his coffee cup and threw it up against the wall of the hospital. He didn't care that he earned shocked glances from the hospital staff or the people in the waiting room. He was so sick of everyone trying to run his life.

He reached for the vial that he kept in his pocket, only to realize that Brooke had walked off with it. Angrily, Nathan turned around and punched the wall in the exact same spot that he had just thrown his coffee. Wincing as he pulled back his bruised and burned knuckles, he swore loudly.

"Sir, I think you need to come with us."

Nathan turned to find two huge security men standing behind him. He suddenly found the entire situation hilarious. Brooke steals his drugs to do god knows what with them and he gets thrown in jail for punching a wall.

He burst out laughing, clutching at his sides to get air. Where the hell was the righteousness in that? Brooke should be the one arrested, she was the thief. He hadn't even harmed the damn dry wall.

"I think you need to go jump off a cliff," he said through his laughter. Before the two men had the chance to do anything, he was heading toward the doors of the hospital. He was through them before the men had time to react.

Stopping a couple of blocks away from the hospital to catch his breath, Nathan leaned up against a brick wall and tried to decide where to go next. He knew he wouldn't be able to go back to the hospital, not that he wanted to anyway, and he knew that he needed another dose of opium, but he didn't have the cash.

His head was pounding again as a result of going too long without opium. But without cash, he wouldn't be able to purchase it. And the guy who he purchased the opium from was not understanding when it came to excuses for not having the cash.

"Damn you Brooke!" he shouted to the empty alleyway. "I hope you're happy!"

With an angry sigh, he pushed himself off of the brick wall and started pacing, wiping the sweat from his eyes. It was suddenly very hot.

Nathan let out another sigh and stopped pacing, only to start up again a few moments later. He needed opium and to buy it, he needed cash. There was only one place where he knew he could get the cash, and that was back at the apartment.

Nathan swallowed once before turning and heading down the alley, toward the road that he knew would take him to the apartment, the cash, and later, the opium he so desperately needed.

* * *

**Does anyone see the foreshadowing that I do??? Feel free to comment on it if you do. Whoever guesses it correctly gets a free cookie and a hug!!**


	16. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: I do not own _One Tree Hill _or any of its characters.**

**Author's Note: There are countless of reasons why I don't like this chapter and countless of reasons why its so late in being posted, chief among them is because I am writing on a school-issued laptop and I was almost done with this entire chapter and then the computer did an automatic restart and deleted the entire thing. The first draft of this chapter was amazing. I loved it. And now, this is just a poor rewrite of it. I was so mad at my laptop and at my school for doing that. I'm sorry that this isn't everything it should be and I'm sorry its so late. I hope you do enjoy it though.**

**Author's Note 2: I started writing the end of this chapter really late at night, so excuse me if its a little er... boring and not as emotionally drawn out as the rest of it is. **

**Author's Note 3: The next chapter should be up sometime next weekend. **

**Read and review!!**

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Broken Hearts and Healing Minds

**Chapter 15**

There was no turning back now. The double doors swung open and he was wheeled through them. He looked back once to see her standing there and felt instantly strong. As long as she was there, he would have a reason to fight.

* * *

He saw stars and the brilliant blue sky above was blotted with black as the guy raised a meaty fist and brought back on his face. He spit the blood out of his mouth and looked desperately around for someone to help him. There was no one.

* * *

The drywall cracked underneath the power of his punch. He heard his mother screech at him, but ignored it. He welcomed the pain that flooded through his split knuckles. He started at the soft hand on his shoulder. He turned around and sighed as he gazed at her.

* * *

He understood where she was coming from, he really did. But he couldn't let her go without a fight quite so easily. She was perfect; smart and sweet, willing and encouraging. But she was in love with someone else and that just couldn't be.

* * *

Peyton sighed as she watched the double doors swing shut behind the gurney as Lucas was taken to the surgical unit. There was nothing more she could do except wait and hope for the best.

She felt her cell phone buzzing and was surprised. No one except for Lucas had talked to her recently and she wondered who would be calling her now of all times.

She checked the caller id and was surprised to see Nathan's name on the screen. Peyton hadn't talked to Nathan since she had discovered that he was into opium and had no desire to either. She couldn't help but feel extremely disappointed in him that he would resort to drugs instead of talking to someone. Hadn't he learned his lesson with Lucas that drugs weren't the way to solve things?

Angrily, Peyton hit ignore and stalked to the empty waiting room to find a seat. She wished now that she had someone to talk to today, because she was going to go insane with worry otherwise.

Her phone buzzed again. Peyton chose to ignore it, thinking it would be Nathan and whatever reason he had for calling her. She sighed as she pulled the textbook out of the book bag she had brought with her and opened it to the pages she had been assigned to do for homework. All the time in the hospital with Lucas these past few weeks had made her workload increase by a tenfold.

She had been working steadily for about half an hour when the glass doors to the waiting room slid open and Haley walked in with a worried look on her face.

"Hales?" Peyton asked as she closed the textbook. "What are you doing here? Lucas won't be out of surgery for another hour at the least."

"Have you seen Nathan?" Haley asked.

"No, I've been here," Peyton said. "Is everything okay?"

"Yes. No. Maybe. I don't know," Haley said with a heavy sigh. "I just need to talk to Nathan about something."

"Has Lucas told you?" Peyton asked. She racked her memories to try to see if he had, but she couldn't remember anything past two nights ago when Dr. Richards had come in and told them that Lucas' surgery was scheduled for today.

"Told me what?" Haley asked puzzled. "You know what? Never mind. If you see Nathan, tell him that I need to talk to him."

"Have you tried calling his cell phone?" Peyton asked.

"I have, but gave up when I found it in his apartment an hour ago with the door unlocked and the place completely trashed," Haley said the worry in her tone making it high. Peyton's eyes widened at the news.

"Their place was trashed? Was anything missing?" she demanded. She couldn't believe it. Who would want to rob their apartment? There was nothing in there except for dirty socks and a couple of boxes of pop tarts.

"I don't know. I saw it and freaked out. I tried calling you from Nathan's phone and when you didn't answer, I called you from my own, and then I came here," Haley said. "Do you have any idea where he might be?"

_Buying opium_, Peyton thought grimly, but she couldn't say that. Besides, the apartment robbery worried her. She highly doubted that no matter how messed in the head Nathan was at the moment, he wouldn't tear apart the apartment like that.

"I don't know," she said honestly. "I've been here since Lucas was taken in to surgery about forty-five minutes ago. If you want, I can go look for him."

"No, it's okay," Haley said with a sigh. "I'll call Brooke and Tyler. They'll help me."

Peyton wouldn't tell Haley, but she highly doubted that Tyler would be gung-ho about helping her find Nathan. She had seen the looks Tyler had been giving Haley lately and knew that he must be getting jealous, despite Haley's claims of being just friends with him. Peyton could hardly blame him—Haley had mentioned that she had never really stopped loving Nathan the couple of times Peyton had had the courage to approach the subject.

"Stephen will probably want to help if Brooke's in on it," Peyton said. "In fact, I think Brooke might be in the waiting room downstairs for the clinic now. She told Lucas that she had a doctor's appointment today for the baby."

"I'll go check," Haley said rubbing a hand through her hair. "Thank you. I'll call you if I find him."

"Okay, Haley," Peyton said. She knew that Haley would be pretty distressed if she found Nathan—he was probably in a bad state with the opium if no one knew where he was.

Haley said good-bye before quickly running off through the waiting room doors. Peyton watched her go, before sighing and returning to the work she was doing.

* * *

Nathan struggled to his feet, wincing as his left wrist protested the effort. He had used it as a shield from Gavin to prevent the opium dealer from breaking his nose. The result was he had probably sprained it or fractured it.

His head ached and his throat felt dry as a result of not having his daily fix of opium. He hadn't had time to use his last dose and hit up some money from Dan before Gavin and his goons had attacked his apartment and dragged him down to the 'square' where opium dealers met to show people a lesson. Nathan had been the subject today as to what happened when people didn't pay up their money in time.

He let out a grunt of pain as he took a step forward and the entire world swam. Nausea threatened to overwhelm him.

"Nathan?" someone called nearby.

Nathan looked up quickly, instantly regretting the effort when it resulted in his guts being splattered all over the cement ground.

Soft hands touched his back. Nathan blinked spinning around to see who it was, instantly on his guard. He was expecting Gavin, even though he knew the bastard would have never touched him that kindly, and was surprised to see Haley standing there, a look of unmasked concern in her kind brown eyes.

Suddenly, Nathan was pissed off. He didn't need her damn pity. He didn't need her concern. She was just like Lucas—pretending to understand something she would never be able to in a million years. Why couldn't she just go away and leave him the hell alone?

"What the hell are you doing here?" he demanded shrugging off her hands.

"I came here to help you," she said softly. "I was worried when I got to the apartment and the place was trashed. Are you okay? You're bleeding."

"I'm fine," he growled pulling away from her hand and wiping at his eyebrow that was bleeding profusely. Gavin's knuckle had apparently struck home once.

"No, you're not," Haley said firmly. "You look as though you've gone ten rounds with a block of cement and lost. You need to get that wrist checked out. It looks as though it's cracked."

"And you're such an expert on these things?" Nathan demanded. "Just leave me alone. I don't need your help and I sure as hell don't need your pity. Go back to your precious Tyler and leave me the hell alone."

"You're an asshole, you know that?" Haley commented in the same tone of voice she would use if she were talking about the weather.

"If it bothers you so much, then why don't you go away?" Nathan asked.

"Because what bothers me more is the fact that you're sick and not letting anyone help you," Haley snapped her eyes suddenly angry. Nathan felt some sort of pleasure that he had been the one to make her angry. Maybe she would start feeling the way he did if she was angry.

"Who says I need help? I was doing perfectly fine before you came along," Nathan spat.

"Yeah, throwing up all over yourself and fainting is definitely doing perfectly fine," Haley said sarcastically. "Grow up Nathan and let me help you."

"Why should I? All you've ever done is hurt me, Haley! I sure as hell don't need that and I sure as hell don't need you!" he yelled.

"You can only fool yourself for so long Nathan," Haley said bitterly. "But you're eventually going to hit rock bottom. I'm trying to help you before it gets that bad. I don't want to lose you Nathan."

"You should have thought about that before you turned down my marriage proposal," Nathan said.

"Is that what this is about?" Haley demanded shocked. Nathan let the silence speak for him. "You have got to be kidding me!"

"Why? Why can't I be serious? I loved you, Haley. I fell in love with you and all you did was stomp on my heart and laugh about it before hooking up with Tyler! Why the hell am I not allowed to be upset?"

"I'm not worth this, Nathan," Haley said stretching her arms out to gesture to what Nathan had fallen in to. "I'm not worth the drugs and the getting beat up over. Brooke told me about the drugs, Nathan. You can't do this to yourself! Not over me!"

"Haley," Nathan said helplessly. He saw the dangerous look flash in her eyes.

"Don't!" she snarled. "Don't you dare make excuses. Don't you dare make me the excuse you need to do this. You loved me. You proposed to me. I said no. I'm sorry that I made the biggest mistake in my life. But you can't do this, Nathan. Do you not remember what happened with Lucas when he resorted to drugs to resolve his problems?"

Nathan looked away from her, unable to look her in the eye. He knew that she was right, but he didn't care. His life was spiraling out of control. There was nothing he could do. Drugs took away that intense feeling of helplessness, regardless of what everyone else thought.

"Haley!"

The familiar male voice sounded from up the road. Both Haley and Nathan turned to see Tyler walking down the road, a concerned and angered glint in his blue eyes as he set eyes on Nathan. Nathan turned back around, disgusted.

Haley let out a dreary sigh as well, obviously reluctant to see her boyfriend. Nathan spared her a curious glance, wondering what was going on. He was about to ask when Tyler reached them.

"Tyler, I told you to wait in the car," Haley said her voice rough with annoyance.

"What is he doing here?" Tyler asked motioning to their surroundings.

"_He_ has a name," Nathan cut in. "And I'm here because no one ever looks for me here and I just want to be alone."

He was talking in a bitterly sarcastic voice, one he knew Haley couldn't stand. He felt guilty for being the reason for the hurt look in her eyes, but refused to apologize for it. He had never asked for her to come after him.

"Nathan," Haley said warningly. To Tyler, she added, "It doesn't matter what he's doing here. What matters is that he doesn't need our help. Let's just go."

"Haley," Nathan protested. He didn't want her to go now that she was here. He couldn't deny the fact that he was still in love with her and even if she did hate him at that moment for the choices he had made, he didn't want to be alone.

"You made your choice, Nathan," she said bitterly. "You chose drugs over me. Now live with it."

With that, she turned around and stalked away, with Tyler following her. The latter cast an unreadable look in Nathan's direction before turning around and hurrying to catch up with the former.

* * *

Brooke let herself in to Stephen's house using the key she knew lay underneath the ceramic bunny on the front porch. She wanted to invite Stephen to her doctor's appointment this afternoon, and to just talk to him. In the past two weeks since Lucas and Peyton had been in the hospital, Brooke found herself really beginning to like Stephen again. He wasn't a complete psychopath, he was smart, funny, and cared a lot about her. Brooke needed someone like that in her life.

She heard raised voices coming from the living room and walked in the room just in time to see Stephen spin around and slam his fist into the drywall. She heard an exclamation of surprise from his mother and Dr. Richards, who was also in the room, and a shriek of concern coming from Kayla, Stephen's sister.

"Stephen Andrew Burns!" his mother yelled. "What the hell has gotten in to you?"

"What has gotten in to _me_?" Stephen demanded. "You tell me that you're marrying this guy even though you've only been dating him for two weeks and I'm not allowed to get freaking pissed about it?"

No one had noticed Brooke's presence yet and for that, the brunette was grateful. She didn't want to get sucked in to another famous Burns family spat.

"I thought you liked Michael!" Stephen's mother protested.

"He's a great guy," Stephen said. "But how much do you really know about him? No offense, doc, but I don't trust you."

"Stephen," Kayla said pleadingly from the couch.

"What? Let mom ruin our lives again? Let her get into another divorce like she did with Caleb and that Dean guy? Do you like moving, Kayla?" he demanded. Brooke didn't remember the last time she had seen him this angry. "I want to finish school here. And I can't do that if mom runs off with the first guy she meets and rushes into a divorce!"

"You, Stephen, are grounded," his mother said angrily. "No car, no cell phone, no computer for the next month."

"Should I just go ahead and pack them now?" Stephen asked in a darkly humored voice that didn't suit him. Brooke shivered and wondered what was going on.

"That's enough from you, young man," his mother snapped. "Or I'm going to send you back to your father."

"At least that is a stable environment free from my whore of a mother!" Stephen yelled. More yells of shock sounded in the living room. "You know what? I don't even care any more. Do what you want with your life. But don't expect me to pack up and move once you dump this guy and move on to the next one."

"Stephen!" Kayla protested as he turned around and stormed out of the living room. He didn't see Brooke, nor did anyone else, but she decided to follow him out of the house and on to the front porch.

He paused for a moment and attempted to slam his fist into the brick wall of the house. Brooke intervened and caught his already bleeding hand before he could do any more damage to himself.

"Brooke?" he asked.

Was it possible for a seventeen year old, nearly eighteen, guy to look so much like a five year old? Was it possible for him to sound five? Brooke thought so as she looked at the broken expression on Stephen's face and as she held his bleeding hand.

"What has that poor wall ever done to you?" she asked in a sad attempt at humor.

"Did you hear all that?" Stephen asked in a whisper. Brooke nodded.

"You want to tell me what that was all about?" she asked wrapping an arm around his shoulder. She half expected him to shrug her off, but was pleasantly surprised when he leaned into her instead.

"I just need some time away from the craziness," he said. "I need some time to just be with you and forget about what just happened."

"You're going to tell me what that was about eventually, right?" Brooke pressed. Stephen nodded with a sigh, before looking at her with his blue eyes that resembled Lucas's in so many ways, right down to the broken, tortured expression they carried.

"Don't you have a doctor's appointment this afternoon?" he asked.

Brooke nodded, secretly thrilled that he remembered.

"You don't have to come if you don't want to," she said.

"I want to," he said quickly. "I wouldn't miss it for the world."

Brooke smiled up at him as he wrapped an arm around her steadily growing waist and rested his head on hers.

"Thank you," he whispered as they walked down the sidewalk.

"For what?" she asked twisting so she could look at his face. He was so handsome.

"For being you," he said.

"Well, you're welcome," she said. "And thank _you_. For you know, being you and all."

"You're welcome," he said. And they left it at that.

* * *

With a sigh, Tyler watched as Haley slid into the passenger's seat of the car and buckled her seatbelt. He could see it on her face that she was shaken by the condition they had found Nathan in and his refusal to let them help him. He could also see it on her face that she wasn't going to let it stop her, either.

"You're still in love with him, aren't you?" he asked as he started the car and pulled it out of its parking space.

Haley looked at him stunned. Her brown eyes were puzzled, yet resigned. Tyler knew what her answer was going to be and couldn't blame her. He had heard about all the things Nathan and Haley had been through while they had been a couple. He had heard that the former proposed and the only reason why Haley had turned him down was because she was scared. It was hard letting that kind of love go.

"Tyler, I—." Haley began. Tyler shook his head.

"It's okay," he said. "I get it. And I don't hate you for it. I just want you to be honest with yourself and with me about the way things lie with him. I will continue being with you for as long as you want me to, so long as I know the truth."

"Tyler—." Haley started again.

"It's okay, Hales," he said with a soft smile. "If I know you love him, then I know you like me that much more because you're staying with me over him. And I'm okay with that. If you can't love me, then at least you like me the best."

He was rewarded with a sad smile and a quiet laugh.

"You're an idiot, you know that?" she asked quietly.

"That's what they keep telling me," Tyler said with a grin. He cared that he was second to Nathan, but he wasn't going to make Haley choose. He couldn't. If he did, he would only end up pushing her away. And having her in his life like this was better than no way at all.

"Thank you," she said. "For helping me even if you don't like Nathan. For being with me, even when you know I'm hung up on him."

"You're welcome," he said. "And I'm not doing this just for you. If I broke up with you, I'd be hard pressed to find a sexy tutor who likes the same things I do."

Haley blushed and smiled softly. Tyler smiled as well. He knew things were far from okay and wouldn't be okay for a while, but at the moment, he didn't care. She smiled because of him. That was all that mattered.

* * *

Lucas was distantly aware of someone speaking his name softly. He recognized the voice instantly and it brought a faint smile to his lips. _Peyton_.

With a struggle against the weights that kept his eyelids glued shut, Lucas managed to open his eyes. He blinked against the harsh glare that made his head hurt, giving his eyes a moment to adjust to the bright light.

She was sitting there, holding his hands with a smile on her face. It lit up her green eyes, making her seem more angelic than ever.

It hit him suddenly. He had survived the heart surgery. If he was looking at her beautiful face, he was alive. He was free from the life-threatening HCM. He no longer had to worry about heart attacks or the medication. He was _free_.

"Hey," Peyton said softly. "You feel okay?"

"As long as you're here by my side and this isn't a sick, twisted dream," he said. "I'm doing just fine."


	17. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer: I do not own _One Tree Hill_ or any of its characters. Anything unrecognizable however is mine. All original characters (both dead and alive) are mine.**

**Author's Note: I know, I suck at updating. It's been what... a month? I'm really sorry about that. But... hey... at least it hasn't been two years... **

**Author's Note 2: this chapter isn't totally amazing... by far one of the least amazing ones I have ever written... but I've been putting most of my efforts into a top secret FanFiction that I'm writing that I'm not letting any one, including my friends that are badgering me about it, see it until I'm done. So, please excuse the delays and blame all annoyances on my plot-master that refuses to let me write anything except the top secret FanFiction. **

**Author's Note 3: Reviews are welcomed, but it is highly understood if you have lost interest in this story.**

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Broken Hearts and Healing Minds

**Chapter 16**

Brooke squeezed Stephen's hand as the doctor put the sonogram machine away and pulled out the familiar file. Today was the day she was supposed to find out the sex of her baby. She was excited and nervous at the same time. She was worried that something was wrong with her baby; that Ryan had somehow passed on a defect, that she had done the wrong thing. She was happy, for today meant she could finally pick out a baby name.

"Well, you and your baby are both doing extremely well," the doctor said with a smile. "That's always a good thing in teenaged pregnancy."

Brooke's doctor was a fifty-year-old woman who had a strong belief that teens should wait until they were married to have sex. Brooke, having gone through the morning sickness and all the pains of being pregnant, couldn't help but agree with her, though she couldn't help but strongly dislike the woman because she was such a bitch about what she believed in.

"That's good news," Stephen said rubbing his thumb and index finger in soothing circles around Brooke's hand as she opened her mouth to start chewing out the doctor for being overly cynical.

Brooke was glad that Stephen was there. She highly doubted she would have made it this far without his support. She would have probably turned into a puddle that rivaled the Wicked Witch of the West in _Wizard of Oz_ if she had to do this by herself. But some days, like today, Brooke wished that he hadn't decided to come. She really wanted to yell and scream at her doctor for being the world's biggest idiot.

"As I told you at your last doctor visit, today, if you'd like, you are able to find out the gender of your baby," the doctor said. "Would you?"

"Hell yes!" Brooke exclaimed.

"Yes, please," Stephen said at the same time, with an award winning smile that was guaranteed to make the doctor smile. It did; but she gave a disapproving glance to Brooke at the same time.

"I trust that the baby's father will be a better influence on his young life then his mother will be," the doctor said.

"It's a boy?" Brooke exclaimed while Stephen's face soured slightly. "That's great news!"

"I'm glad you seem to think so," the doctor said with a sniff. "I'd also like to discuss possible due dates and arrange for you to take some more prenatal vitamins to keep you and your son as healthy as possible as you head into your third trimester."

Brooke barely heard the doctor for the rest of the appointment. She was lost in her own thoughts, thinking about names for the baby. Her son. The thought sent chills of pleasure through her. She was going to be a mother. She was going to have a son.

* * *

Nathan heard the front door to the apartment open, followed by loud voices and the sounds of cursing as someone banged their head against the doorway. He recognized the voices as Peyton and Lucas, home at last from their extended stay at the hospital.

"Take it easy, Lucas!" Peyton exclaimed. "For god's sake, you just had heart surgery. Do you really need to be up and walking around?"

"I'm fine, Peyton," Lucas said.

Nathan could tell from the sound of Peyton's exasperated sigh that Lucas hadn't been the easiest person to live with the past couple of weeks. He felt distantly guilty, knowing that there was something he could have done to help out, but was past caring. Haley had turned her back on him. His own brother hated him. His basketball scholarship had been taken back once the colleges had learned about his opium addiction. There was nothing left to live for.

"Lucas, just go lie down," Peyton said. "I don't think Nathan's home."

Footsteps shuffled closer to Nathan's closed door, ones Nathan knew where Lucas's.

"The car was parked outside," Lucas argued. "I think he's home."

"And what are you going to do about it?" Peyton demanded. "Look, you just had serious surgery done. You really need to be in bed resting. We can worry about Nathan later, once you don't look like death warmed over, okay?"

Nathan heard Lucas sigh and knew he was running a hand through his hair. A part of him wished that Lucas would fight against Peyton, come barging in here and start yelling at him. Another part of him wished that Lucas would just do what Peyton asked and leave him alone.

"All right," Lucas said tiredly.

The footsteps faded as they walked down the hallway and then the door to Lucas's bedroom shut. The apartment was silent once more.

Nathan closed his eyes and let himself drift off into the comforting blackness that had become his best friend over the past few months.

* * *

Lucas couldn't breathe. His chest was burning as though he had been running a marathon. His head pounded and he felt as though he were going to throw up any moment. Sweat dripped off him, soaking the pillows on which he rested his head.

"Easy, Luke, just take it easy," he heard someone say from above him. "Swallow these."

Two small round objects were forced into his mouth, followed by a soothing stream of cold water. The fire in his chest dissipated, the pounding in his head declining to a manageable tempo, and the rolling sensation in his stomach disappearing.

Lucas opened his eyes, blinking them to adjust to the darkness. Peyton was standing over him, looking worried.

"Are you okay?" she asked as she sat down on the edge of his bed. "You were running fever."

"Yeah, I'm fine," he said as he struggled to sit up. Peyton's gentle hand on his chest stopped him.

"You've already pulled three stitches with all the thrashing around you've been doing," she said. "You don't need to pull any more."

Lucas sighed, wincing as the effort made his chest hurt. Peyton was right; he didn't need to be sitting up.

"What happened?" he asked hoarsely. His throat was dry as sand paper. Peyton handed him a glass of water, as if she had read his mind.

"I came in to check on you about twenty minutes ago," she said. "You were burning up, mumbling something, and had a hand on your chest with a look of pain on your face. You forgot to take your medicine."

"Crap," Lucas muttered.

It was true; he hadn't taken his medicine. It had been two weeks since he had gotten out of the hospital and thought he could go without the pain medication for a night. If it hadn't been for Peyton practically living at the apartment now that her father was gone, Lucas would have probably been in a whole lot worse state then he was now.

"Lucas, maybe you should move in with Dan," Peyton said hesitantly.

"No," Lucas said quietly.

Dan had offered Lucas a place at his apartment back before Lucas was discharged from the hospital. He had told Lucas that he wanted a second chance with his oldest son and that Lucas would need all the help he could get for the first couple of months out of the hospital. Lucas had flat out refused, not wanting to owe Dan anything.

"Luke, you should really think about it! He would be able to give you everything you need to get back on your feet," Peyton protested.

"No," Lucas said a little more loudly. "I'm not going to move in with him. He had his chance with me. He blew it."

"Look, I don't trust him anymore than you do," Peyton said. "But I really think he would be able to help you. And not just with forcing you to take your medication and making sure you go to your doctor appointments on time. He's been through what you're going through. He can help you get back to where you want to be!"

"And why can't you do that?" Lucas asked stubbornly. He knew he was being unfair; Peyton was giving up a lot to be able to help him the way she had been lately. And he felt guilty for every little bit of it. But he would prefer the guilt over staying with Dan. There were some things in life that Lucas just flat out refused to do.

"I love you more then anything in the world," Peyton said. "And I'd do anything for you. You know that. But I can't handle this on my own. You deserve more than I can give you."

"You're everything I need," Lucas said.

"You don't have to decide anything tonight," Peyton said. "Just, think about moving in with Dan. Please, do it for me."

"All right," Lucas said with a sigh. He was getting too tired to argue anyway. "I'll think about it."

Peyton smiled softly as she lent over and kissed his forehead.

"I love you," she said.

"I love you, too," he murmured back before drifting off to sleep.

* * *

Brooke took Stephen's hand again as they walked out of the hospital toward his car. He was unusually quiet and he seemed to have a lot on his mind. She wondered what was going on and wished she could help.

"Hey," she said as he finally looked away from whatever space he was staring into. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Stephen said looking away from her briefly. He wrapped the arm he didn't have connected to hers around her shoulders. "I just have a lot of things to think about."

"Like what?" Brooke asked.

"My mom kicked me out of the house this morning," Stephen said quietly.

Brooke sighed heavily. She couldn't say she was surprised. After the last spat she had overheard, Brooke couldn't blame Stephen's mother for kicking him out.

"I'm sorry," she said. "Is there anything I can do?"

"Not unless you can find some place cheap for me to stay while I can find a job," Stephen said with a heavy sigh of his own.

"You can stay with me," Brooke offered. "I don't have much, but what I have is yours."

"I won't ask you to do that for me," Stephen said. "You already have too much going on without someone moving in with you."

"It's no trouble, really," Brooke protested. Her protests were cut off by a kiss from Stephen.

"Thanks, but no thanks," he said as they broke apart. "I'm fine in the cardboard box my mother has me in."

Brooke huffed before allowing Stephen to tow her to his car. She wanted to do something, to pay him back for all the nice things he had done for her, and moving in with her was about the only way she could think of to do that.

She stared out the window, wondering what Stephen was going to do now. He was only seventeen, hardly old enough to get his own place. She didn't want to see him out on the streets either. There had to be a way.

* * *

Nathan waited until he was sure that Lucas was asleep again and Peyton was passed out in his room before slipping out of the apartment. Lucas had been home for all of two weeks and he still had yet to see Nathan. Nathan spent most of his time locked away in his bedroom, either high or sleeping off the latest round of drugs. He had barely left the safety of the apartment or his bedroom over the past two weeks, save for grabbing some food every now and then and getting more opium.

He was leaving the apartment. He couldn't stay there much longer anyway. Once Lucas recovered from the surgery he had undergone, he would be trying to find Nathan and forcing him to give up his last safety net. Nathan wasn't about to let that happen. He had already found an apartment downtown, near the square, and had put a down payment on it. He had used the money he had found in Lucas's bedroom before Lucas had gotten out of the hospital to pay for it and to buy a month's worth supply of opium. He was set for a while.

"So long," he whispered as he closed the door to the apartment. Nathan was going to miss the place where he had spent the last three years of his life. More than that, he was going to miss making sure Lucas was okay on a daily basis. But it was what he needed to do to keep the life the way he wanted it. Lucas wouldn't understand what he was going through. There was no way his brother could help him. It was for the best that he was leaving, no matter how much it hurt.

Nathan sighed as he walked down the stairs and hit the sidewalk. A light drizzle was starting to fall and the dark clouds overhead promised a very wet night. He hoped the rain would hold off long enough for him to get to his new home before drenching him.

Shouldering his duffel bag containing all of his meager belongings, Nathan walked away from the life he once had.

* * *

Lucas cussed rather loudly despite his promise to himself that he would keep quiet as he got off the bed and attempted to take a few steps toward the hallway. He ended up in a crumpled heap on the bedroom floor with a loud _thump_ as he searched wildly for something to hang on to as he was hit with a sudden wave of dizziness.

"Lucas?"

Peyton's worried voice sent Lucas scrambling to his feet again, only to become overcome by another wave of dizziness.

"Shit," Lucas muttered reaching for anything that might help balance him or stop his second trip to the floor just as Peyton walked in.

"Luke?" Peyton appeared in the doorway just as Lucas managed to get himself back on his bed, breathing heavily and still extremely dizzy. His head started hurting and his leg throbbed angrily.

"I'm fine," he said in a ragged voice as she came and sat down next to him. "I just wasn't ready for the dizziness."

"Luke, I really think you should move in with Dan," she said.

"No," Lucas said stubbornly. "I've told you, I refuse to move in with him."

"You're a stubborn bastard, Lucas Scott," Peyton growled.

"Look, you know how I feel about the guy," Lucas said. "There is no way in Hell that I will move in with him ever again. Heck, I'd rather live with Stephen then live with Dan."

Peyton looked thoughtful for a moment.

"If that's the way you really want it," she said. "Then that's the way you'll get it."

Before Lucas could ask her what she meant by that, Peyton stood up and left the room. She came back a few seconds later with the phone in one hand and his pain killers in the other.

"Take these," she ordered handing the plain white pills to him. "I'll be right back."

And she disappeared again, for longer this time. Lucas took the pills and sighed, grabbing _The Hobbit_ off of his bookshelf and flipping it open to the page he left off on. He could hear snippets of her conversation through the thin walls of the apartment.

"I think I have solution to your problem," Peyton said. A few moments passed and Lucas managed to get through a couple of more pages of the book. "Yeah, it was his idea actually."

More silence. Then Peyton walked back in, without the phone.

"Well, you're going to have a new roommate here in about half an hour," she said. "Stephen got kicked out of his mother's house and needs a place to stay."

"Peyton, I was joking about that!" Lucas protested. "I'm fine with being here by myself if you need to get back to school."

"And how, pray tell, do you plan on going to the bathroom when I'm not here?" Peyton demanded. "You can hardly stand up without falling flat on your ass."

"I'll manage," Lucas said stubbornly.

"Yeah, with Stephen," Peyton snapped back. She sighed. "Look, Lucas, I love you, which is why I'm trying so damn hard to get you to see the fact that you need help. And I can't give it to you twenty-four seven."

"I understand that, Peyton," Lucas said quietly. "And I love you for trying. But I don't want Stephen living here and I don't want to live with Dan."

"I know you're extremely independent and you love to prove to the rest of the world that you don't need any one's help but your own," Peyton said. "It's one of the things I love about you, because I can't stand clingy guys. But you're just going to have to suck this one up and take one for the team."

"I'll do it," Lucas said.

Peyton smiled.

"I love you all the more."

"I'm not doing it for him. I could care less if he gets hit by a car. I'm doing it because I love you. And on the condition that I can kick his ass if he does anything to piss me off."

"Deal," she said walking over and kissing him. "I love you."

"I love you too."


	18. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer: I do not own _One Tree Hill_ or any of its characters.**

**Author's Note: Hello fellow readers!! My, my, it's been a long time, hasn't it? Nearly two months, give or take a couple of days. Wow, does time fly. I apologize, I completely blanked when it came to this story. I kept meaning to update and then I got sidetracked with the _Supernatural_ Fanfics I've been writing and then _How to Save A Life_... it's been hectic. I never meant to let this story slide. But, I did, and now, it is back with a brand new, strictly Lucas centered update. I had fun with this one, though it gets kind of emotional to the end. Hope you guys like it! Review and tell me what you think! I'll try to update sooner... it shouldn't be hard, I already have most of the next chapter written.**

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Broken Hearts and Healing Minds

**Chapter 17**

Lucas punched a couple of numbers into the cash register and hit enter, handing the woman who stood on the other side of the counter her change.

"Have a nice day," he said as she turned and walked out the door to the café, the bell chiming as she did so.

He sighed as he shoved the drawer closed and checked his watch. Only one more hour to go before he was free to go back to the apartment and face another day of not having Peyton around.

It was Tree Hill High's spring break, which usually, Lucas looked forward to more than anything. It gave him a much needed break from his classes and the constant questions about Nathan his classmates kept asking him. But this week, he would much rather have the awkward questions and the classes then be without Peyton and her constant source of comfort over the past three weeks.

Stephen had moved into the apartment the week before hand, after Lucas had started going back to school and catching up in his classes. It had been all kinds of awkward, but Lucas would be the first to admit that he was glad Stephen was there. Stephen was somewhat intelligent and had been a major source of help to Lucas over the past week. It actually wasn't that bad anymore. Stephen didn't have the urge to blast rap music at top volume, he was rarely in the apartment at the same time Lucas was, and he didn't touch the alcohol Lucas had stashed underneath the island in the kitchen either. Of course, Lucas was rarely home, Stephen hated rap music and also didn't know about the secret stash of alcohol, but hey, it worked.

It was because of the slightly less tense atmosphere that Peyton went on spring break with her father to Florida for the week instead of hanging around with Lucas and Stephen in the apartment. It had actually been Lucas's idea for her to go—she had given him everything, and he wanted her to have the chance to have some fun and spend some time with her father. Lucas had taken his own feelings of loneliness out of the equation, knowing full well that if he had mentioned anything about them, she would have stayed.

"Lucas, can you clean table ten for me? Thanks, hon!" Jeanette, the main waitress for the small café, yelled.

Lucas sighed. He had agreed to pick up extra shifts at the café to help pass the time until Peyton got back, but frankly, it was boring here. There was nothing to keep his mind from wondering and these days, that was not the best idea for him. He needed something to keep busy, to keep his mind off of his brother who he hadn't seen or heard from in weeks, to keep him from realizing how much he missed Peyton. The only things keeping him from ditching out and just spending all day at the river court was the thick knee brace around his injured leg and the fact that he needed the money. Even though Dan had paid all the surgical expenses for his heart, Lucas still had a ton of medical bills to pay for and the apartment rent was due at the end of the month. He had skipped it last month, much to the chagrin of the landlord, and had been threatened with being kicked out of the apartment if he skipped it again.

"You can leave any time, Luke," Jeanette said as Lucas put away the squirt bottle and rag once he was done wiping off the table. "I'm going to close up early today; my cousin's coming in from Vermont and I want to spend some time with her and her daughter."

Lucas nodded mutely, glad that his boss was getting the chance to visit her family, but annoyed that he had nothing else to do. Stephen would probably be at baseball practice, Haley would probably be out with Brooke doing some much needed baby shopping, and there was no one else he wanted to hang out with. It was times like these that Lucas desperately longed for his brother's company, if only to just scream at him for being insane.

_Nathan_, Lucas thought absently. Then it hit him. He could always go and search for Nathan. It was probably the dumbest idea in the history of ideas, but it was definitely worth it if it meant saving his brother.

Before the little annoying voice in the back of his head that resembled Peyton could talk him out of it, Lucas grabbed the keys to his apartment from underneath the counter and headed out the door.

He had limped about a mile, cursing Nathan the entire time for stealing the car, when he finally saw a tall teenager with shaggy, oily dark brown hair and stained clothes heading toward a small gas station. Lucas recognized him as his brother after a few moments.

Cautiously, knowing that he was the last person Nathan wanted to see, Lucas followed him down the street. It wasn't hard to walk slowly—his leg was beginning to hurt a lot—but Lucas felt extremely annoyed he had to resort to these measures just to see if his brother was okay.

Nathan went into the small gas station. After a moment's indecision, Lucas followed him inside, ducking behind a shelf full of candy as Nathan wandered by on his way to the alcohol section.

"Lucas?"

Lucas turned at the sound of his name, still staying low. He knew it wasn't Nathan—his brother was now selecting his choice of beer—and was stunned to see Haley standing behind him, holding a candy bar in one hand and a large bottle of Sprite in the other.

"Haley? What are you doing here?" Lucas asked recovering enough from his shock to at least stand up a little more so it didn't look like he was doing anything suspicious.

"Buying gas and candy," Haley lied. Lucas shot her a glance. She sighed. "Following Nathan. What are you doing here?"

"I just got off work and needed a Pepsi," Lucas said. "I was just heading to the drinks section when I saw Nathan."

Granted, it was a lie, but he didn't want Haley to know he followed his brother here. Haley didn't like the idea of him trying to be more involved in his brother's life anymore than Peyton did. They both thought it was too risky, because Lucas's leg was still injured and he had just had heart surgery a month ago.

"Does he look okay?" Haley asked anxiously, crouching down beside him and peering over at the alcohol section.

"Honestly? No," Lucas said with a shrug when she glared at him. "He looks like any other drug user. He needs help."

"I know," Haley said with a sigh. "But I don't know how we can convince him of that."

"I do," Lucas said grimly. "It's not exactly the best plan, but it will work."

"What? Knock him out with a frying pan, take him to the hospital, and tie him up until he's over it?" Haley asked dryly.

"Something like that," Lucas said offhandedly. Haley looked at him as though he was crazy.

"That's not going to work, you idiot," she exclaimed. "We tried that with you, remember? You hated us and it didn't work."

"Well, then, it's a good thing I have a plan B, now isn't it?" Lucas asked. Haley raised an eyebrow.

A few moments passed.

"Well, aren't you going to tell me?" she asked.

"So you can just tell me I'm suicidal and that I shouldn't do that to Peyton? No way in Hell," Lucas said with a snort.

"Luke!" Haley exclaimed.

"Relax, Hales. My evil mastermind plot isn't that dangerous. Well, it could be if things go badly, but it shouldn't land me in the hospital," Lucas said with a shrug. "But I would like you to stay out of this and not to mention this to Peyton when she calls tomorrow night."

"You're insane!" Haley said in disbelief.

"You say that like it's news to you," Lucas said with a shake of his head. "I know what I'm doing."

"Hmph," Haley snorted crossing her arms across her chest. "I don't like this. What is it exactly that you're going to do?"

"Talk to him," Lucas said simply.

Haley's mouth dropped open. Apparently, she had been expecting something more. Something that probably would have ended with the cops, a life threatening injury, and an immediate change in Nathan's condition. Lucas was still working on that plan.

Before she could say anything, Lucas ducked out from behind the candy aisle, grabbing a package of Rollo's as he did so. He figured he might as well make this trip to the gas station worth it.

Lucas got in line behind some old lady who had a can of cat food in one hand and a pack of cigarettes in the other. Nathan was directly in front of her, buying his beer.

"Excuse me," Lucas said cutting in front of the woman and grabbing a Pepsi. He didn't move, despite the death glare the woman was now giving him. The worst she could do was beat him up with her little purse.

He saw Nathan's shoulders stiffen ever so slightly as he heard Lucas's voice. He didn't say anything, not as the man behind the counter accepted his license or as he got his wallet out of his pocket. But he knew Lucas was there.

"The card is a fake," Lucas said loudly to the man behind the counter.

That earned a reaction from Nathan. His passive face soured as the man running the counter looked suspiciously from Nathan to Lucas and back again. Apparently, Lucas looked more trustworthy, for the man handed the card back to Nathan.

"We don't accept fake ids here," the man said with a thick Chinese accent.

"It's not a fake," Nathan protested.

"It is," Lucas insisted. "This guy's my younger brother. I'm only eighteen."

Nathan looked absolutely livid as he whirled around and glared at Lucas.

"You have no right," he began.

"Please, don't fight in here," the man behind the counter pleaded. "This my uncle's store. He kill me if anything happens."

"C'mon, Nate, let's go outside," Lucas said pleasantly, taking hold of Nathan's elbow. "We don't want to cause any trouble. Oh, and for the Rollo's. Keep the change."

He tossed down a five and towed Nathan out of the gas station. The second they were outside, Nathan threw off Lucas's hand.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Nathan demanded.

"I could ask you the same thing," Lucas said his voice still friendly, though he doubted that Nathan could miss the hint of malice running through it. Even Nathan wasn't that stupid.

"It's none of your business what I do," Nathan growled. "You need to learn to leave me the Hell alone. I don't bother you. Why the hell do you keep bothering me?"

"You're my brother," Lucas said simply. "You need help, even if you don't realize it. This drug addiction… it's killing you Nate. The sooner you realize that, the sooner you can get better, the sooner you can get on with your life."

"I have nothing worth living for," Nathan snapped. "My brother is a freaking liar, my ex-girlfriend is in love with someone else, my best friend hates me because of what I've done, and there is no one left that I can trust."

"I have never lied to you, Nathan," Lucas said quietly. "Never. I may have not told you everything, but I have never, not once, lied to you."

"You're lying now," Nathan said shaking his head frantically. "You lie to me all the time. You hate me."

"I don't hate you," Lucas disagreed. He was finding it nearly impossible to keep from shouting at his brother, but he knew that wouldn't get them anywhere.

"Yes, you do," Nathan exclaimed. "That's why you're here. You want to take away the only thing I can depend on. You want to kill me!"

"Damn it, Nathan, you can't depend on those drugs! They're what are killing you, not me!"

So much for not yelling, Lucas thought grimly.

"They're keeping me sane!"

"Look at you, Nathan! Tell me that what you're doing is healthy! That what you're doing is sane! It's not! It's suicide!"

"No, it's not!"

Lucas noticed the growing crowd around them, all people anxious about what was going on and trying to figure it out. He noticed Haley standing in the front of the crowd, looking scared and worried. What he didn't notice was the silver gleam of a pocket knife.

"Look out!" someone screamed. Lucas thought later it might have been Haley. But at the moment, he was only aware of Nathan, who had his fists clenched tightly around the knife and was pointing it at Lucas.

"Drop the knife," Lucas said. He was surprised at how calm his voice was. "You don't want to do this."

"Yes, I do," Nathan said through gritted teeth.

"Are you sure you can kill me? Your own brother?" Lucas taunted. "I don't think you have it in you."

Ten seconds later, Lucas regretted the words as Nathan charged him. He barely had time to throw up his arm to save himself from the vicious attack.

"Stay the fuck out of my life!" Nathan screamed as the knife cut through Lucas's long sleeved shirt and into the skin. Blood started welling out of the wound instantly.

Lucas drew back, his arm stinging like crazy, but he didn't back down. Instead, he drew his hand back and punched his brother square in the jaw.

"I'm only trying to help you, you idiot! The sooner you realize that, the sooner I will stay out of your life!"

"I don't want your help!"

"You need it!"

"I don't need anything from you, you lying bastard!"

Lucas didn't see the punch coming, which is why he ended up with a black eye and ringing ears.

"You really are that stupid! You think that what you're doing is right, but you can't see how you're killing everyone and everything around you! Look at Haley! She's blaming herself for your stupid decisions!"

"It is her fault!"

The force of Lucas's punch sent Nathan sprawling to the ground. Lucas could see the fear in his brother's eyes as he drew back his fist and punched the younger Scott in the face again.

"It is not Haley's fault," Lucas growled. "It's your own damn fault. You're the one doing this to yourself. Not me, certainly not Haley, but you."

"Haley was the one who pushed me to this!" Nathan protested. "She was the one who said no to my proposal!"

"You're the one that pushed her away! You're the one who said you didn't want her around anymore. Haley wanted to be in your life, Nate. You're the one that closed that door."

"Go. To. Hell."

"I'll see you there."

With that, Lucas spun on his heel and stormed through the shocked crowds. He heard someone yelling his name, just as he was tackled from behind.

"I hate you, Lucas! You have completely ruined my life! It's your fault that I ever met Haley! It's your fault that I fell in love with her!" Nathan screamed.

Lucas twisted out from underneath his brother's gasp and sent a kick to his brother's exposed gut.

"You can blame me all you want," he said as he wiped the blood from his lip. He bit it open when Nathan had tackled him. "But it doesn't change anything. You are a stupid, idiotic bastard who needs help but is too much of a jackass to realize it. So you know what? I'm done helping you. I'm done trying to make you see sense. If you want to kill yourself, then fine. But I won't be around when you realize just how horrible you're making things. I'm through, Nathan."

Nathan looked stunned as Lucas slowly got to his feet. He obviously hadn't been expecting Lucas to just give up on him like that. Lucas hadn't been expecting it either, but he knew a lost cause when he saw one.

Knowing that Nathan was too surprised to do anything else, Lucas turned his back on his brother and walked away.

He kept walking until he reached the river court, where he finally stopped. His leg was throbbing and his chest felt like it was going to explode from the emotions he was keeping a clamp on. Lucas sat down on one of the picnic benches and pulled his knees to his chest, wrapping his arms around them. He buried his face in his knees and cried for the first time since his mother had died.

A gentle hand on his shoulder made him look up. Haley sat down wordlessly beside him and wrapped her arm around his shoulders, placing her head on his.

"I'm sorry, Hales," he whispered brokenly. "I'm sorry that I couldn't do any good."

"I'm sorry, too, that I drove him to that," Haley whispered back.

"It's not your fault."

"It's not yours either, Lucas. It never was and it's never going to be."

Lucas nodded, wrapping his arm around her in a gentle hug. Haley gasped when she saw his arm.

"What?" he asked puzzled.

"Your arm, it's bleeding!" she exclaimed. "Oh my god, did Nathan stab you?"

"Probably," Lucas said with a shrug. He glanced at it. "It's nothing major. Just a scratch. I've had worse, believe me."

"We should get that checked out," Haley said. "It looks pretty bad."

"I'm fine, Hales."

"No, you're not! You could bleed to death and I'm not about to lose you too!"

Her brown eyes watered and tears started streaming down her face as she buried her head into Lucas's shirt.

"Hey, hey, you're not going to lose me," he said gently. "I'll be okay. I am okay. I'm here. It's going to be okay, Hales."

"Can you please get your arm checked out? For me?" Haley begged.

"Sure," Lucas said to appease her. It wouldn't hurt. "C'mon, I'll drive your car."

"Thank you," she whispered as they got up and walked to Haley's car. "Thank you for being my friend."

"Thank you for being mine," Lucas said quietly.


	19. Chapter 18

**Disclaimer: I do not own _One Tree Hill_ or any of its characters.**

**Author's Note: I actually updated within a week of the previous update!! Yay!! You all must be happy... though this chapter is shorter than normal and pretty boring. Ah well. There'll be a lot of action in the next chapter, I promise.**

**Author's Note 2: I originally wrote this to be the last chapter and then have a huge epic 14 page long very detailed account of what is going to happen in this one. I wouldn't be telling you this except for the fact that the timings don't exactly match up with this chapter and the last chapter, cause the previous chapter was never supposed to exist. So if the timings are weird, just ignore them. **

**Reviews are not required, but they keep a writer happy!**

**

* * *

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Broken Hearts and Healing Minds

**Chapter 18**

Lucas was dimly aware of his cell phone ringing. He let out a groan as he pushed himself off of his bed and stumbled over to his nightstand where he kept his phone. It was two o'clock in the morning. Who the Hell was calling him at two o'clock in the morning? Whoever they were, they better have a damn good reason.

"Hello?" It was more of a demand then a friendly greeting.

"_Lucas?_"

Lucas froze at the sound of the voice. It sounded so heartbroken and sad. It also made him angry.

"Nathan?"

"_I need help. I need you to help me. Please._"

"You should have thought of that before you tried to kill me," Lucas snapped. It was two o'clock in the morning. He was done trying to save his brother, even if he was begging for help. He wanted to go back to sleep.

"_I'm sorry. Please, I don't know what to do._"

Lucas hung up the phone and crawled back into bed. He would chalk this up to some strange dream and try to get some more sleep.

His eyes were still open at six o'clock in the morning, wondering what that phone call was about. Nathan sounded really bad.

Sighing angrily, Lucas grabbed his cell phone and punched in a number.

"_Hello?_"

"We need to find Nathan. He's in trouble."

* * *

Stephen would never admit it to anyone, except for maybe Brooke, but living with Lucas wasn't as bad as he thought it was going to be. In most respects, to tell the truth, it was actually kind of nice. It was way better then living with his mother and all of her husbands.

Living with Lucas was pretty much like having a place of his own. The two avoided each other as much as possible, for both knew that friendship was not in the immediate future. Lucas had his own routine and Stephen had his and neither where willing to interrupt the other's. So they stayed out of each other's way and made civil conversation toward each other when contact couldn't be avoided.

Stephen learned a lot about Lucas the first week he was in the apartment. For one, Lucas was a quiet person who kept to himself and never complained about anything, and the guy had a lot to complain about. Secondly, he spent a lot of time outside of the apartment now that he was actually allowed out of it. And third, he wasn't the bad guy that hurt everything and everyone around him that Stephen had been imagining from the start. In fact, Stephen was actually starting to like the guy to a point.

Stephen was in Nathan's old room, working on the last of his homework for the following day. He already had perfect grades, so it wouldn't have mattered if he didn't do it, but he was bored and needed something to do. He started when the front door opened; Lucas usually didn't come home until around two-thirty on weekends and Peyton was on vacation with her father. Brooke would have knocked and the only other person who had a key was Nathan, who would never come back anyway.

Cautiously, Stephen slid off of the bed and picked up his baseball bat that he kept by his desk. He made his way around the boxes he still had yet to unpack and crept down the hallway.

He was surprised to see a short, long haired brunette standing in the living room. Though Stephen rarely spent time with her, he knew her once as Haley James, current girlfriend of his best friend, Tyler Moore. He wondered what she was doing here. He also wondered how stupid he really looked carrying a baseball bat in his hands with it raised to strike her in the head. He quickly set it down on the ground before she realized he was there.

"Haley?"

The brunette turned around and looked at Stephen in surprise. She hadn't expected to find him here either.

"Stephen? What are you doing here?" she asked.

"I could ask the same of you," Stephen pointed out leaning against the door jam and crossing his arms across his chest.

"I was looking for Lucas," Haley said. "Is he around?"

"I don't know where he is," Stephen said. "He didn't exactly mention where he was going before he left. He's probably at the river court though—I heard that's where he likes to hang out."

"I just came from there actually," Haley admitted. "He wasn't there. That's when I decided to come here."

"Why?" Stephen asked before he could help himself. "Is there anything wrong?"

"I got a message on my cell phone from the owner of an apartment building downtown," she said pulling her cell phone out of her purse. "Apparently, I haven't been paying my rent."

"Well, have you?" Stephen asked dumbly, not understanding where she was going with this.

"I'm currently living with Brooke at Pine Lodge," she snapped. "Even you should know that."

"I haven't talked to Brooke since her doctor's appointment three weeks ago," Stephen said. "I've been kind of busy moving in here."

"You've moved in?" Haley asked incredulously. "Since when did Lucas like you enough to let you live here?"

"It was Peyton's idea," Stephen explained. "Anyway, where is this apartment complex?"

"What apartment complex?"

Stephen jumped and Haley's eyes widened as Lucas walked into the living room, his light blue shirt darkened with sweat. He looked as though he had just run a marathon, which probably wasn't the best idea, Stephen thought, seeing as he just had heart surgery a little over five weeks ago. Peyton was going to kill Stephen. She trusted him to make sure Lucas didn't do anything stupid. Like run a marathon.

"Where've you been?" Haley asked putting her hands on her hips. Stephen thought she looked just like his mother when she did that.

"I've been out for a run," Lucas said honestly. "What apartment complex? Did you find Nathan?"

"You've been looking for Nathan?" Stephen asked surprised. He thought Lucas was through with trying to find his brother. He hadn't mentioned Nathan once in the entire three weeks he had been here. So what was going on?

"I think so," Haley said at the exact same time. "I'm not sure though. Here, listen to this."

She handed Lucas the cell phone. Lucas took it hesitantly, as though it were a snake poised to attack. He typed in a couple of numbers on Haley's phone and listened to the message.

"Oak Ridge?" Lucas asked once the message was through. "You think he's seriously at Oak Ridge?"

"If the message is correct, then yes," Haley said.

"Wait a minute," Stephen said stepping in between the two of them. "Would someone please like to explain to me what the hell is going on here?"

"He wouldn't go there, not in a million years," Lucas said shaking his head. "Even if he was dead broke, he would rather sleep under a cardboard box then go to Oak Ridge. Nathan knows better."

"The sober Nathan that you knew would," Haley pointed out. "He's changed, Lucas. I keep trying to tell you that, but you don't want to believe me. He attacked you the other day, remember?"

"Wait, what?" Stephen demanded his eyes widening.

Neither one of them seemed to hear him.

"It was an accident," Lucas protested. "He didn't mean to do it. He apologized for it later."

"Yeah, after you broke his nose and earned yourself six stitches in your arm," Haley spat back. "Honestly, Lucas, when are you going to realize that Nathan isn't the same person that left here two months ago?"

"You had stitches?" Stephen asked dubiously. "When?"

"Last week," Lucas muttered. "I was walking home from the café and saw him. Tried to talk to him and we ended up in a fist fight and he just happened to have a knife."

"When were you planning on telling me this?" Stephen demanded.

"Would you have told Peyton?" Lucas asked.

"Yes," Stephen said instantly. "She deserves to know."

"Then I wasn't going to tell you," Lucas said simply. "Look, Peyton doesn't need to know right now. She's on vacation with her father and I don't want to worry her with this. I'll tell her when she gets back."

"Provided you don't get yourself killed first," Haley muttered. Lucas glanced at her. "You haven't told her?"

"Not yet."

"You have a serious death wish, don't you?"

"No, I just don't want her racing back here over nothing. I can look after myself, guys. I'm fine."

"You had heart surgery a little over a month ago. You are not fine."

"The doctor says I am. Anyway, this isn't about me. This is about Nathan. Now are you going to check out Oak Ridge or not?"

"Not. Not by myself," Haley said. "I don't like that place. Are you going to come with me?"

"Yes," Lucas said instantly. "But we're going to need help. I don't have a car anymore and I'm betting you walked here. Stephen?"

Stephen longed to just say no. He really didn't want to be involved in one of these Scott family dramas. From what he had heard from Brooke and Peyton, none of them ended without a trip to the hospital and a stay in the ICU. And he really didn't want to see Dr. Richards after the way Stephen had acted in his mother's house three weeks ago. But saying no wasn't an option here.

"Sure," Stephen said plastering a phony smile on his face. "I would love to."

Lucas looked relieved and Haley looked… anxious, but also slightly relieved.

"All right, let's go," Lucas said. "I'll drive. Give me the keys to your car."

"Wait, we're going now?" Stephen demanded. "Shouldn't we at least talk about this? Make a plan of action or something? Maybe call the police?"

"If Nathan is at Oak Ridge, then that means he's in serious trouble," Lucas said. "We don't have time to involve the police, and anyway, I don't want to. I want to save my brother by myself. If we involve the police, they're going to want to lock him up. I don't want that happening and it's the last thing Nathan needs. Now are you coming or what?"


	20. Chapter 19

**Disclaimer: I do not own _One Tree Hill_ or any of its characters.**

**Author's Note: Okay, so I lied. There isn't a whole lot of action in this chapter. It's more cliffhangers and confusion leading up to the next one, which is the grand finale before the next author's note. And you know me, I'm in love with cliffhangers, so there is bound to be a huge cliffhanger at the end of the next chapter too. Don't hate me too much, okay?**

**Author's Note 2: This chapter is a bit confusing, mostly because I couldn't make up my mind about how I wanted to write this. I tried to combine every single way I wanted, and this is the result. Hopefully you guys like it and think it's better than I think it is!**

**Reviews are not required, but they keep a writer happy!**

**Broken Hearts and Healing Minds**

**Chapter 19**

Lucas wondered if anyone had ever experienced a stranger moment then the one he was at the present. He was driving a very nice car, one that probably cost more than he would ever make in his lifetime with his best friend riding shotgun and the one person he could barely stand to be around in the backseat and they were going after his pain in the ass younger brother who was at the most dangerous apartment complex in Tree Hill because of his freaking drug addiction.

"It's the next left," Haley said quietly as they pulled up to a traffic light.

Lucas shot her a quick glance, trying to gauge how well she was taking this. They hadn't been friends in a while, but he still knew her well enough to know when she was terrified out of her mind like she was at the moment. Her shoulders were shaking and her brown eyes looked as though she had just seen a ghost.

"It's going to be okay, Hales," Lucas said reaching out with one hand and taking hers.

"I know," Haley said bravely.

She didn't let go of his hands. Lucas smiled as he flipped on the turn signal and pulled into the parking lot of Oak Ridge.

"We're here," Stephen announced unnecessarily as Lucas put the car in park and turned off the engine.

"Now what room number did you say he was in?" Lucas asked as they climbed out of the car.

"Um, 104," Haley said looking around wildly. There was no sign of anyone ever having been there save for the graffiti on the wall and the light on in the uppermost floor. There were no cars in the rundown parking lot except for Stephen's.

"That'll be on the bottom floor," Stephen said. Lucas and Haley turned to look at him. He shrugged. "I, uh, I used to live in a lot of apartments. The one hundreds are always on the bottom, two hundreds in the middle, and three hundreds on the top. So room 104 will be on the bottom."

"I know that, I'm just surprised you know that," Lucas said. He sighed. "C'mon, let's go."

Lucas led the way to the brown, dilapidated building, with Haley clutching at his hand and Stephen trailing with his hands in his pockets. He stopped as Lucas and Haley entered the stairwell leading to the bottom floor.

"What?" Lucas demanded turning to face him.

"I, uh, I don't think it's a good idea to go in there," Stephen said looking anxiously at the building. "It looks as though it's going to fall down any minute."

"Look, if you're scared, then just wait out here," Lucas snapped. "But that's my brother in there and I'm not leaving him here."

"So you're all of a sudden gung-ho about finding Nathan?" Stephen demanded raising an eyebrow in surprise. "You said that you were done trying to help him out."

"That doesn't change the fact that he's my brother and he needs my help," Lucas retorted taking a step closer to Stephen.

"Guys! If you want to stand here and have your little macho showdown, then fine! But I'm going in there so if you want to come along, then come!" Haley half-shouted.

Stephen and Lucas glared at each other for a half-second longer before they both turned and walked after Haley.

"I still say this is a really bad idea," Stephen muttered.

* * *

Brooke knocked hard on the door to Lucas's apartment, hoping for an answer. She wanted to talk to Stephen badly. It had been at least three weeks since their last real conversation, not that she was counting. The only person she had really talked to as of late was Haley about Nathan and how messed up Nathan was. That got old really fast.

"If you're expecting an answer, I wouldn't waste your time," a voice said from the stairwell.

Brooke jumped and spun around, surprised to see Nathan standing on top of the stairs. She did a double take, realizing that it wasn't Nathan, but Tyler Moore, who was practically Nathan's twin, only shorter and less muscular.

"Tyler, what are you doing here?" Brooke questioned.

"I was looking for Haley," Tyler said. "You must be looking for Stephen. He left with Lucas and Haley a little while ago. They all looked extremely determined about something."

"Do you know where they were heading?" Brooke asked.

"I overheard Lucas say something about Oak Ridge apartments," Tyler said. "But I don't think they'd go there, do you?"

"I don't know," Brooke said slowly. She thought for a moment. "You don't happen to have a car, do you?"

"Yeah, why?" Tyler asked looking puzzled. He paused for a moment. "You're not seriously thinking about going down there, are you?"

"Yes, I am," Brooke said grimly.

"Brooke, that's suicide! You're pregnant, you can't be going to the drug-dealer palace! That place has had more collapses in the past three weeks than any other building in Tree Hill!" Tyler exclaimed.

"Look, my cousin and my boyfriend are over there along with my best friend," Brooke said. "I can understand if you don't understand this, but I need to be there to make sure they don't get themselves killed. And I know why they're there, too. So will you please just drive me over there?"

"You're insane," Tyler said shaking his head. "But I must be more so if I'm actually willing to drive you. Come on, let's go. But if any thing at all happens to you, Stephen is going to kill me."

"I'll deal with Stephen," Brooke said firmly. "Now let's go."

* * *

Wind whistled through the cracks in the apartment, making the entire place creak and groan ominously. Nathan shivered and wiped the sweat from his forehead. It was close to thirty-two degrees inside the apartment, and even colder outside, and he was sweating like he was in a sauna. He knew something was wrong, and not just the five men encircling him, looking for their money that Nathan owed them.

There was a knock at the door. Nathan felt his breath catch in his throat as the five men surrounding him all looked at each other, trying to figure out what to do.

"You should probably get that," Nathan managed to croak.

"Nathan?"

Nathan started at the sound of his brother's voice. How the hell did Lucas find him? Why did Lucas find him? The late night phone call from a couple of days ago had made Nathan think that Lucas hated him and was unwilling to help him.

"Nathan, we know you're in there so just open the damn door!"

Nathan froze at Haley's shout. He found himself unable to breathe, and not just because of the painful bruises on his chest. She was _here_ for him. Haley, the love of his life, was here. He couldn't wrap his mind around the idea.

"You called someone?" the tallest and biggest of the men demanded. He outweighed Nathan by a good two hundred pounds and was three inches taller. His name was Jed, the leader of this motley crew.

"No," Nathan tried to protest.

"Why did you tell us before?" a small wiry man asked with a twisted smirk on his face. "We love friends. The more the merrier, wouldn't you say Jed?"

Jed grinned in agreement. Nathan felt his blood chill. He couldn't let Lucas and Haley walk into this—they'd be injured or killed. He had to do something. But what?

"Okay, Scott, here's how this is going to work," Jed said. Nathan tried to focus, to think up of a plan to get Lucas and Haley out of here, but his drug addled mind wouldn't cooperate. "You're going to open the door, tell the guy to get lost and then bring the girl in here, okay? Maybe she can help you out of your little problem here and she can help us."

Jed grinned. Nathan felt sick as the meaning of Jed's words hit him.

"How about we work out our frustrations about the lateness of the money on the guy?" the wiry guy suggested.

Nathan felt about ready to punch someone. He couldn't let this happen.

"That's a good idea, Ned," Jed said. "Now, Scott, if you'd be so kind as to open the door."

"And if I don't?" Nathan demanded boldly. Or rather, in a voice that should have been bold but came out as a pathetic whisper. Nathan vowed that if he got out of this alive, then he would give up drugs for good.

"Then it'll be your funeral," Ned said pulling out a switchblade. "And then we'll still open the door and bring your 'friends' inside."

"Put away the toy, Ned," Jed ordered. "Scott, open the door now or I'm going to open the door. And you know that if I open the door that everyone on the other side of it dies."

He pulled a .45 mm out of his pocket to prove his point.

"And if they don't come in?" Nathan asked knowing it was a futile question. Lucas and Haley wanted to save him. They'd come in.

"Then make them," Jed said threateningly, toying with the handle on the gun.

With a heavy heart and sweating palms, Nathan walked toward the door.

* * *

Lucas was just about to pound on the door again when it swung open and revealed Nathan, who was pale-faced, sweating and looking as though he hadn't slept in over a month.

"Nathan!" Haley exclaimed.

Nathan glanced at her. Lucas hadn't spoken a word to his brother, except for the misunderstanding at the gas station, in over a month, but he still knew Nathan well enough to know when his younger brother was scared out his mind. Now was one of those times.

"Hi, H-Haley," Nathan murmured. "What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you," Haley informed him. "What's going on? Lucas told me that you called him. Why are you here of all places?"

Lucas fought against a growing suspicion that something was on the other side of that apartment door, something that Nathan was trying his hardest to hide from them.

"Let us in, Nate," he said quietly, but firmly.

"I'm sorry," Nathan whispered as he opened the door wider to let them in. "I never wanted this to happen."

Lucas barely had time to send a questioning look toward his brother before something hit him in the back of the head and everything went black.

* * *

Stephen leaned against the hood of the car, waiting for Lucas's text message. They had gotten to Nathan's door when Haley had pointed out that Nathan hated Stephen and it would probably be best if Stephen waited by the car. Lucas, to everyone's surprise, had argued against it, but Stephen had already decided to go back. Lucas had promised to text him if everything went okay or if things went drastically wrong.

A familiar black SUV pulled up beside his car. Stephen was stunned to see the vehicle and even more so when the passenger's door opened.

"Brooke?"

* * *


	21. Chapter 20

**Disclaimer: I do not own _One Tree Hill_ or any of its characters.**

**Author's Note: As forewarned in the chapter before this, there is a huge cliffhanger at the end of this chapter and there will be an author's note for the next chapter. I am not going to say whether or not this is a deathfic or not, because that will totally ruin the surprise. But, don't hate me too much for this chapter, all right?**

**Author's Note 2: Okay... so the emotions in the latter half of this chapter might be a tad rushed, but I wanted to get this chapter out as soon as possible. So, if they don't make much sense, I'm sorry.**

**Author's Note 3: For reference, Gavin is the name of the drug dealer mentioned in an earlier chapter.**

**Reviews are not required, but they keep a writer happy!**

**Broken Hearts and Healing Minds**

**Chapter 20**

Lucas woke up abruptly, letting out a groan of pain when his shoulders protested moving. He blinked, trying to remember what had happened and where he was.

"Looks like sleeping beauty is finally back with us," a deep voice chuckled from somewhere behind him. Lucas attempted to turn around to see who was speaking, but found himself unable. He felt a pair of hands pinning his arms behind his back. _Crap,_ he thought.

"Leave him alone!" a more familiar voice protested. "He never did anything to you!"

_Nathan? _Now Lucas was really confused. His pounding head wasn't helping matters much, nor was the sight in front of him.

Nathan stood in between two men that were as big, if not bigger, than he was. Both the men had Nathan's arms pinned to his sides. Next to those three, Haley was struggling against two other men, who were having a hard time keeping hold of her. Lucas was both horrified and slightly amused by the sight.

"What the hell do you want?" Lucas rasped. He tried wriggling his hands out of the grasp of whoever was holding him, but the hands just tightened around his.

"I want my money," a sixth man said. He stepped into Lucas's line of sight and Lucas instantly felt his knees go weak. The man was _huge_ and nasty looking. He could definitely kill any one of them if he wanted.

"I don't know what you mean," Lucas said shaking his head and trying to clear it. He succeeded in getting an arm wrapped around his neck. He gulped. This so wasn't going good.

"He has nothing to do with this!" Nathan shouted as he strained against the men holding him. "Neither does she! Please, just let them go and I'll get you your damn money!"

"I've had it with you kid," the man said loudly. "So I'm going to teach you a lesson in respect. I'm going to teach you what happens when a guy forgets to pay me on time. And Blondie here is going to be the example."

"Please," Nathan pleaded. "Use me instead. I'm the one that didn't pay you. C'mon, Jed, please. Gavin would've."

"Gavin is dead," Jed snapped. "I killed him myself because he was too weak to be a drug dealer. I'm not weak. And I know that the lesson won't stick unless it's about someone you care deeply for. I'm assuming this guy is your husband or something, because you're throwing a might large fit over him."

"Dude, we do _not_ swing that way," Lucas said closing his eyes against the image. "But if it's money you want, then take the money that's in my wallet and let us go. We'll never bother you again."

"You think it's that easy?" the guy, Jed, demanded. "You think that if you just pay me everything will be fine and dandy and you can just walk away? I don't care who the Hell you are, you don't forget to pay Jed and get away with it."

"By all means, use Nathan instead," Lucas suggested ignoring the horrified and injured looks he got from Nathan and Haley. He was willing to bet that they didn't have a plan. He did. And it involved him not getting turned into street pizza by a guy with less brain cells than a common flea. "The guy has been a big thorn in my side for a while now. I have never done anything to you and he's the one that forgot to give you your money."

"You're a smart ass," Jed said. "I don't like smart asses."

Lucas felt his stomach drop through the floor as Jed pulled his arm back. _This is going to hurt,_ he thought as the fist flew through the air and connected with Lucas's jaw.

All coherent thought went out of his mind as his head snapped to the side and pain spiked through his face. He tasted blood in his mouth and knew that he had either lost a tooth or bit his cheek so hard that it drew blood. He saw stars for a moment before his vision cleared again. Nathan and Haley were both looking at him in horror and concern.

"You're going to have to hit me a lot harder than that if you want it to hurt," Lucas said bravely while trying to rework his plan. He knew that if they ever wanted out of here, he had to get to his cell phone and text Stephen for help. To get to his cell phone, however, Lucas had to get his hands free. And at the moment, there was only one foreseeable way to do that. He hoped that all those fights with Nathan and Ryan had done some good for him, else he was about to die painfully.

"You have a big mouth," Jed commented. "That's annoying."

"Big words for a flea brain," Lucas taunted.

"Lucas," Nathan said warningly. He looked scared. Lucas didn't blame him; he was terrified as well. "Don't do this."

"Listen to your boyfriend over there if you want to stay alive," Jed said threateningly.

"You know, I'd be a hell of a lot more scared if you were saying this when I could actually fight back," Lucas said swallowing a groan when the person behind him tightened their grip on his wrists and pulled. He'd be lucky to get out of this with his shoulder intact, though judging by the look on Jed's face, he'd be lucky to get out of this alive.

"Let 'im go, Ned," Jed said.

The hands holding Lucas's arms behind his back were moved to underneath his shoulders, hauling him to his feet. Then, they were gone, leaving Lucas swaying unsteadily and facing a man at least twice his size and weight. He gulped again. This definitely wasn't one of his brighter plans.

"Dude, you do know that donuts are just fried sugar, right? They're not love," Lucas blurted out. He wished he hadn't, for the next second he was lying on the floor, staring up at the ceiling with a black eye.

"Lucas, watch out," Haley shouted just as Jed threw another punch at Lucas. Thanks to Haley's warning, Lucas ducked it easily and darted away from Jed. The man was huge and strong, but he was not quick and agile. Lucas found himself thinking that with a lot of luck, he might actually win the fight.

Lucas continued to duck Jed's punches, occasionally managing a punch or two of his own, but still not getting anywhere close to where he could call for help. He was close to the door and he might have been able to make a break for it, but a low rumbling sound coming from the wall made him pause. In that instant, Jed took out all of his frustrations that had been building up from Lucas's avoiding his punches and landed a hard kick to Lucas's still healing ribs. Lucas heard the sharp gasps coming from Nathan and Haley, he heard the moan that broke through his own lips, and he heard the laughter coming from Jed and his goons, but he couldn't focus on anything except the mind numbing pain that engulfed him. It paralyzed him as Jed took another step toward Lucas and raised his gun to finish the job.

"Good-bye, smart ass," Jed grinned as he cocked the gun.

"Jed! Look out!" the smaller one, Ned, screamed just as the low rumbling turned into a crunching noise and the entire ceiling collapsed.

* * *

Stephen stared in shock at Brooke as Tyler climbed out of the SUV and walked up behind her. His shock turned instantly to anger as he saw his best friend.

"What the hell, Tyler? What were you thinking, bringing her to this place? She's pregnant, you jackass and this is a drug dealer palace! She can be killed in a place like this!" he shouted. "Are you really that big of a moron?"

"What were you thinking bringing Haley here?" Tyler shouted back. "And Lucas the infamous Scott brother who had heart surgery a little over a month ago? Are you really that big of a moron?"

"That's different!" Stephen yelled.

"How?" Tyler demanded.

"GUYS!" Brooke shouted over them. They both stared at her, Stephen in awe and Tyler in surprise. "Are you forgetting the real reason why we're here? Nathan is in trouble, Lucas and Haley might be as well, and you two bozos are sitting here yelling at each other about it! I'm the one that forced Tyler to bring me here like I know my cousin and friend forced you to bring them here! So can we all stop being knuckle heads and focus on that?"

They stood there in silence for a few minutes, glaring at each other. Tyler glared at Stephen, who glared at Brooke, who glared at the both of them.

"Why did you want to come here, Brooke?" Stephen questioned. "Don't you know how dangerous it is to be here? Especially for you?"

"I'll be fine," Brooke snapped. "Quit your worrying. Nathan has been a good friend to me always and I'm not about to just sit on the sidelines and watch while all the guys run around and save the day just because I'm pregnant. If you want a pushover for a girlfriend then go find some plastic bimbo at a bar!"

Stephen's jaw dropped. Tyler started laughing.

"Shut up, you," Brooke growled. "Now are we going or what?"

Stephen shook his head.

"No, Brooke, _we _are not going in there. Tyler and I are going in there and you're staying here, in the car, where it's safe," he said.

"If you think it's safer out here _alone_ and pregnant than it is in there with four guys that lift weights for a living, then you need your head checked," Brooke said flatly. "I can hold my own, even if I am a girl and pregnant. Quit being a sexist pig already and grow a pair."

Tyler started laughing harder until Brooke turned her glare on him. He shut up instantly. Stephen nearly smirked.

"And you, you no good for nothing loser, if you don't quit cackling like a hyena, I might be inclined to slap you," she snarled. "Now let's go."

She spun around and started storming toward the apartment complex. Stephen and Tyler jogged to catch up to her.

"Brooke, wait a second," Stephen said reaching out and grabbing her wrist. He wasn't prepared for the violent reaction he received.

"Get your hands off of me!" she shouted. "I'm going in there to save my best friend, my cousin, and my best friend's idiot of a brother because I know something bad has happened to them! And if you can't understand that, then you and I are done because I can't be with someone who puts what he wants above everyone else! I know you hate Lucas and all, but this is just getting ridiculous!"

"I don't hate Lucas," Stephen disagreed. "The guy is probably one of the nicest I'll ever meet. I just don't want you to get hurt. I don't want Lucas and Haley to get hurt either, but I didn't exactly have a say in what they do. Haley still loves Nathan and Lucas is obligated because he's Nathan's brother. But you, you're my girlfriend and I love you and I don't want you to get hurt. I'm not trying to be a sexist pig when I'm asking you to stay behind. I'm asking you to stay safe and keep the baby safe for me because I don't know what I'd do without you two."

Tyler made a noise of discomfort, but both Brooke and Stephen ignored him. Brooke was staring at Stephen in shock, tears shining in her hazel eyes.

"What?" Stephen asked. "Why are you crying?"

"You just said that you love me," she whispered as the tears started streaking down her face. "You said that you love me."

"I do, Brooke Penelope Davis," Stephen said with a smile. "I love you so much."

"I love you too," she said throwing her arms around him. Stephen wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her head.

"Do you understand why I want you to stay here?" he asked quietly.

"Yes," Brooke murmured. "But just because I understand, Stephen doesn't mean I will. I'm sorry, but I can't be that girl that just waits for her man to come back to her."

"I guess I'll just have to protect you," Stephen said. "But only if you'll let me."

"I'll take what I can get," Brooke said with a soft smile.

"Uh, guys?" Tyler said nervously.

"What, Tyler?" Stephen asked in confusion. Tyler was never nervous about anything.

In answer to Stephen's question, the building they were standing in front of caved in, burying the occupants on the bottom floor in dirt and rubble.


	22. Author's Note 2

**Author's Note 2:**

**Note:**

**Okay, first of all, I'd like to say first of all that I'm thankful to all of those who have read and reviewed every single chapter of this story and have stuck with it ever since the beginning. I know it has been a long journey, but hopefully one that you have enjoyed. I hope for you to continue reading and reviewing, because it means a lot to me to know that you take time and effort out of your day to read my story. I don't think I can ask for a better fanbase than the one I have. Thanks all!**

**Secondly, I'd like to point out that it has been a year and twelve days since I first published this story. It has been a long year, hasn't it? I know that ODOPOSOR only took me 364 days (I finished it a day before the year mark) and was three times as long, but I hope you guys will forgive me. I have been writing all sorts of other things as of late. **

**And finally, I'd like to say that this story is just beginning in a lot of respects. I still have a lot more to throw at you guys, things I hope you enjoy as much as I do. I don't think any of you are going to expect what's going to happen next. I'd also like to tell you that there will be a sequel or a very long epilogue that takes place ten years after this story ends. More details to come in later chapters.**

**Cause For Celebration:**

**You all have left me over 100 reviews for the first 20 chapters. I don't think that has ever happened, ever. So thank you all so much and go out and celebrate! Woot! Plus, there will be another chapter posted at some point tonight as a thing for celebration. Enjoy!**

**The Scoop:**

**Okay, so these chapters have been all centered around Nathan and his drug addiction. That's still going to play a roll in the next few chapters, but for the most part, that's out of the picture. Don't worry, though. There'll still be a lot of Nathan. He's back for good this time. **

**Other things that have been happening are that Brooke is having a boy, Lucas had heart surgery to get rid of his HCM, Peyton and Lucas are back together, Stephen and Brooke are together, and Tyler and Haley are together for the time being. There have been some major hints that they won't be together for too much longer. Major break-up scene coming in the next couple of chapters, just so you know, and Tyler is leaving the story for good. Keith, on the other hand, is making another return trip to Tree Hill very soon. **

**Comments and Concerns:**

**You guys are awesome! Thanks for reading!**

**Songs:**

**No songs this time, but _You Found Me_ will definitely be the background song for the next chapter. It might not end up being actually mentioned in the chapter, but if you listen to it while reading the next chapter, you're going to really understand.**

**Questions:**

**Okay, so yeah, it's your favorite time of the story again! Question time!**

**First of all... who (outside of Lucas) has been your favorite character so far this story?**

**2. Who has been your least favorite character so far this story?**

**3. Should Keith be killed off?**

**4. What heartless thing should Dan do next to Lucas and/or Nathan?**

**5. What career should Haley go after?**

**6. What do you think about the story so far?**

**Extra Stuff:**

**For all of those that have written their own stories and wish me to read them, feel free to ask! And for Lostand1treehillfan and Stupidshinyvolvoowner: Update your stories!! They are really awesome! **

**Until the next chapter**

**Scott Winchester 22 3**


	23. Chapter 21

**Disclaimer: I do not own _One Tree Hill_ or any of its characters.**

**Author's Note: This chapter was originally going to be apart of the next chapter as a flashback, but it grew too long so I decided to just give it its own chapter. Besides, this is pretty intense by itself and of course has another evil cliffhanger at the end. **

**Author's Note 2: I'm sorry I didn't update last night... I fell asleep at the computer when I was writing this I was that tired. So, instead I update today with the promise of another update sometime soon. **

**Broken Hearts and Healing Minds**

**Chapter 21**

Lucas was in utter darkness. He couldn't see or hear anything. Pain was the only thing he was aware of as it lanced up and down his chest and knee.

"Nathan? Haley?" he called coughing as a cloud of dirt fell on top of him. "Nathan? Hales?"

There was no reply. Lucas tried moving but found himself unable to. There was something pinning him down. He strained against it and with great effort that threatened to send him back into unconsciousness, Lucas managed to lift whatever it was pinning him down all the way off. He let out a loud groan when he was finally free.

"L-Luke?"

Lucas's sensitive ears caught the sound of his brother's injured rasp. Lucas forced himself to his feet, swearing so much that it'd make a sailor blush when the pain threatened to send him back to the debris strewn floor.

"Nate, where are you?" Lucas forced out of his burning throat. All the dirt and pain was making him extremely thirsty.

"To your le-ft," Nathan whispered. "Hales is here with me. I can't get her out, Luke."

"I'll be right there," Lucas coughed. He took a steadying breath and then attempted to take a step forward. He fell to his knees, shouting out as pain reverberated through him.

"Luke?"

"I'm okay, Nathan," Lucas reassured his brother. "I just got a piece of glass jammed into my knee."

It wasn't a lie—there was a shard of glass sticking out of the side of his knee now, but he barely felt the stinging pain that accompanied it. The throbbing pain in his chest where Jed had kicked him was too much.

"Luke?" Nathan asked again.

"Yeah, Nate?"

Lucas managed to get to his feet. He found a piece of broken wood that would serve as a good crutch. He leaned against it heavily as he limped toward the sound of his brother's voice.

"I'm sorry," Nathan said quietly. "For everything. For nearly killing you on the river court, for hitting Peyton, for getting addicted to drugs … I'm just sorry. About everything."

"I'm sorry too, Nathan," Lucas said quietly. He coughed again. He spotted Nathan through the dust and debris a few feet away. Who knew that a few feet could look like a hundred miles?

"It's not your fault," Nathan whispered.

"I should have seen the signs, Nathan. I should have known what was going on with you," Lucas said as he gritted his teeth and forced himself to take the last few steps.

"Lucas?"

Nathan looked like he had when Deb had first died. He had that same lost, guilty, injured expression on his face.

"You're gonna be okay, Nate," Lucas promised. He finally reached his brother and placed a comforting hand on Nathan's shoulder. "Are you okay?"

"I'm stuck," Nathan admitted. "My arm's pinned underneath a piece of wood. You should get Haley first. She's unconscious."

Lucas looked to Nathan's left, horrified to see Haley covered in debris and dirt, lying way too still.

"I'm going to need your help," Lucas said fighting the urge to throw up. "Lift that beam off of her and I'll slide her out."

"On the count of three," Nathan said.

Lucas got into position, letting out a low curse as his leg threatened to give way underneath him. He wiped the sweat from his face before wrapping his arms around Haley's waist.

"One. Two," Lucas counted. "Three."

With a groan of effort, the two Scott boys managed to lift the beam and get Haley free. Lucas swore again as his knee actually did give out, sending him crumbling to the ground alongside Haley.

"Luke?" Nathan whispered.

Lucas was quiet for a moment, trying to breathe through the pain. He put his hand on his leg and closed his eyes for a second.

"I'm okay," he whispered back. He slowly got back to his feet grunting when the injured leg throbbed in protest. "Now let's get you out of here."

"Just leave me here and take Haley to safety," Nathan said. "I deserve it."

"If you think for one minute that I'm just going to leave you here after getting my ass kicked trying to save you, then your brain is seriously addled," Lucas said sharply. "Now save your pity party for later; I'm going to need your help getting you out of this."

"Are you sure you're okay?" Nathan asked as Lucas made his way over to him.

"Don't I look it?" Lucas asked sarcastically. He found the piece of wood that was pinning Nathan down and groaned inwardly. The piece of wood had pierced Nathan's shoulder. There'd be no way in getting Nathan out of there without causing serious damage to him. Lucas hated himself for what he was about to do.

"No, actually you look as bad as I feel," Nathan said wincing as he attempted to move. "Seriously, if you need to, take a break for a minute."

"I'm fine," Lucas growled. "And I'm not taking a break—I don't know when the hell this building is going to collapse all the way and I'm not leaving you here. Now, do you have a knife or something sharp that can be used to cut? You have a piece of wood jammed in your shoulder and I need to get it out."

"Just pull it out," Nathan said his face paling visibly in the dim light. "I'll live."

"No, you might not," Lucas disagreed. "And since I'm the older brother, let's just assume I'm right about that, okay?"

"Luke, it's not that big of a deal, just pull the damn thing out!" Nathan snapped. "As you said so yourself, we don't have time for you to cut it out."

"Fine," Lucas said taking a breath to steel his nerves. "But this is going to hurt like Hell. Don't say I didn't warn you."

"Just do it," Nathan said quietly, the fight going out of him.

"On three," Lucas said taking the piece of wood. The fastest and easiest way to get the piece of wood out of Nathan's shoulder was to just yank it out. He hoped that nothing snagged it and made it worse for Nathan. This was going to be painful.

"One," Nathan said through gritted teeth.

"Two," Lucas said. He didn't wait for three. He pulled back as hard as he could and with an agonized scream on Nathan's part, the piece of wood came free. Blood instantly starting seeping out of the wound, darkening Nathan's white shirt.

"Shit," Lucas hissed. He needed a way to staunch the bleeding.

"L-Luke?" Nathan whispered weakly.

Lucas swore again. Nathan was starting to succumb to the pain. He was already weakened with the drugs coursing through his system. He couldn't compete with blood loss. And Lucas knew that he couldn't carry both Nathan and Haley out of here. Hell, he'd be lucky if he would be able to get one of them out of there alive.

"You're going to be okay, Nate, just hold on, okay? I'm going to get you out of here," Lucas promised.

He made a quick decision and yanked off his sweatshirt. Though it was torn and coated in dirt and a dark red sticky substance, it'd be better than nothing around Nathan's wound.

"This is going to hurt," Lucas warned taking a step closer and looping the sweatshirt around Nathan's shoulder and tying it as tightly as he could.

"Ow," Nathan moaned. His eyes closed.

"Open your eyes, Nathan," Lucas commanded. "Open them or I swear I'm going to make you clean the toilet for the next month and a half using your toothbrush."

"God, you're gross, you know that?" Nathan whispered. "I'm okay. I'm just really tired."

"I know, Nathan. I am too," Lucas said. "But you're going to have to stay awake, okay? You're going to have to help me get Haley out of here. Can you stand up?"

Nathan nodded slowly.

"I'm going to need help," he said quietly.

"That's why I'm here," Lucas reminded him. "Wrap your arm around my shoulders and lean on me. I won't let you fall."

"What about… your leg?" Nathan whispered gasping for breath halfway through the sentence.

"It's fine," Lucas lied. "Now, c'mon. We've got to get you and Hales out of here."

"Lead the way, fearless leader," Nathan joked.

Lucas took a couple of steps forward, swearing under his breath as his leg threatened to give out again. He took a deep breath, glad for once that he had gone through with the heart surgery and no longer had HCM, and then took a few more steps forward. Nathan kept up with him easily, grunting in pain as he attempted to move his injured arm.

"Just relax, Nate, and try not to move more than necessary," Lucas suggested. "Can you stand by yourself?"

"Yeah," Nathan said weakly. "Just hurry up, okay?"

"I will," Lucas promised.

He bent down and gently pulled Haley into his arms. He blinked back the sharp, sudden pain that threatened to consume him as he pulled her against his chest. His ribs felt as though they were cracked, if not broken.

"Lucas?" Nathan questioned. He sounded a little better than he had, which was good in Lucas's opinion. That meant he was stronger.

"I've got her, now let's go," Lucas said fighting back a groan when Nathan wrapped his good arm around Lucas's shoulders and leaned against him again.

* * *

Stephen stared in horror as the apartment building collapsed. He heard Brooke scream beside him and Tyler shout something. He hoped that Lucas and Haley had gotten out of there before the apartment collapsed, but he knew that it was a futile hope.

"We've got to do something!" Tyler yelled. He took a few steps forward only to be blocked by Stephen. "Move! Haley's in there! We've got to help them get out of there!"

"Tyler, we don't know how safe that building is!" Stephen shouted back. "It's suicide to go in there!"

"I don't care!" Tyler screamed. "We've got to get them out of there before they're killed!"

"They could already be dead!" Stephen yelled. He hated to say it, but he knew it was a possibility.

"Don't say that, don't you say that!" Tyler shouted. "She's not dead!"

"She may not be, but you will be if you go in there! And I can't let you go in there!" Stephen shouted back. "You're my best friend, Tyler! We have to stay here!"

"Tyler's right, Stephen!" Brooke yelled. "We have to help them!"

"NO!" Stephen roared. "We're staying here!"

"No, I'm not!" Brooke shouted back. Before Stephen could stop her, she was jogging toward the apartment building.

"BROOKE!" Stephen bellowed.

"Come on!" Tyler ordered racing after her.

"Tyler!"

Stephen stood there in the middle of the parking lot by himself for a brief second, hating his friend and girl friend, before running to catch up with them.

* * *

Lucas wasn't sure how they ever made it out of the ruined room and into the hallway. Haley was still unconscious and Nathan was losing the battle against his blood loss. Lucas knew that his leg wasn't going to last too much longer.

"Oh my god! Lucas!"

Lucas looked up at the sound of Brooke's voice, both horrified and relieved to see her standing there. Tyler and Stephen were right behind her.

"Haley!" Tyler shouted spotting the unconscious girl in Lucas's arms. "Is she okay? What happened in there?"

"Are you okay, Lucas?" Stephen asked. "What happened?"

"Someone call 9-1-1," Lucas rasped his voice harsh due to the amount of dust he had swallowed. "Nathan is injured pretty badly and Haley's unconscious."

"You need a hospital too, Lucas," Brooke said quietly. "You look awful."

"Here," Tyler offered taking a few steps forward. Lucas knew that he was offering to take Haley from him, but he couldn't bring himself to let go of his best friend.

"Come on, Lucas," Stephen said softly. "You and Nathan both need to get out of here. Let Tyler take Haley and then we can all go to the parking lot. My cell phone's in the car."

Lucas would have protested again, but he was about ready to collapse as it was. He reluctantly let Tyler take his best friend, ignoring the stiffening of Nathan's good shoulder as he did so.

"C'mon, Nathan," Brooke said softly. "Let Stephen help Lucas. I'll help you."

"Brooke," Stephen said warningly. He got a glare in response as Nathan unwrapped his arm from Lucas's shoulders and allowed Brooke to lead him down the hallway.

"And then there were two," Lucas said weakly.

"Seriously man, are you okay?" Stephen asked. "And don't you dare lie to me either, or I'm calling Peyton the second we get out of here."

"I'm going to call her anyway," Lucas said. "She'll kill me if I hide something this big from her."

Stephen made an exasperated noise as Lucas once again failed to answer the question.

"Let's get out of here," he said. "Can you walk okay?"

"I'll be fine," Lucas lied.

Stephen snorted with disbelief before taking Lucas's right arm and placing it around his neck. Lucas glared at him for a full second before shrugging inwardly. He needed the help anyway and he wasn't petty enough to not accept it where he could get it.

"So, how is Peyton doing anyway? I haven't gotten the chance to speak to her much since prom," Stephen said conversationally.

"She's fine," Lucas said. He wasn't big on conversations and his chest was aching too much to really allow him to talk.

"Talkative, aren't you?" Stephen commented.

"Haven't we already had this conversation when Peyton was in the hospital when Nathan ran her over with his car?" Lucas asked. "Because I really don't feel like rehashing it now of all times."

"Okay, fine," Stephen said. "How's Nathan?"

"He's in pretty bad shape," Lucas admitted closing his eyes for a brief moment. "I don't think he was expecting all of this to happen because of his drug addiction."

"What did happen?" Stephen wanted to know.

"We knocked on the door and Nathan opened it, letting us inside. Then we were ambushed by these guys who outweighed me by a good five hundred pounds. Apparently Nathan owed them some money and wasn't going to let us go until we repaid them with blood," Lucas explained. His jaw was still sore from where Jed had punched him. "They decided to use me as an example. I insulted the guy a couple of times before he let me go and then we got into a big fight. Then the building collapsed and I managed to dig Haley and Nathan out of the rubble. You know the rest."

"I thought you wanted to be an author," Stephen said with a smirk. "If that's the extent of your storytelling abilities, then your book is gonna suck."

"Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence," Lucas said sending a glare toward Stephen. He didn't put much energy into it.

"I'm just joking man," Stephen said stopping for a moment. Lucas stopped as well, grateful for the chance to catch his breath.

There was a low rumbling sound, one that Lucas instantly recognized. He looked ahead, relieved to find Nathan, Brooke, Tyler, and Haley all already outside of the hallway. The relief quickly faded a he realized that the beam right above him and Stephen was splitting apart.

"Stephen move!" Lucas shouted. He shoved Stephen as hard as he could toward the exit of the hallway.

Stephen ducked a moment too late. The beam split in two and one of the halves fell from the ceiling and hit him hard in the head. Lucas barely jumped out of the way in time. He managed to drag a now unconscious Stephen out of the way to avoid being squashed completely by the beam.

"Stephen! Lucas!" Tyler shouted from the end of the hallway. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine!" Lucas called back. "Stephen's unconscious. He was hit by the beam."

"Shit!" Tyler swore. "I'll be right there, okay? Just hold on."

"Hurry!" Lucas yelled as he heard the horrifyingly familiar rumbling noise start up again.

There was a crashing noise coming from up ahead. Lucas glanced up, frightened that it meant that Tyler was killed. He breathed a sigh of relief when Tyler poked his head over the beam.

"The way out is blocked now," he said. "But I'm okay. Is Stephen all right?"

"He's out of it," Lucas said grunting as he shifted his weight to his bad leg. "The beam hit him pretty hard. He's going to need someone to look him over to make sure that he doesn't have brain damage or something."

"I think he already has brain damage," Tyler groused. "Can you walk okay or do you need some help?"

"I'll be fine," Lucas said. "How do you suppose we're getting out of here?"

"I've got an idea," Tyler said. "I'll carry Stephen. You just try to keep up, okay?"

"Okay," Lucas said longing for a hot shower and his bed back at the apartment. He would give anything to be there right now.

"Just stay with me, Lucas," Tyler said. "You'll be okay."

Lucas nodded tiredly as Tyler picked up Stephen, making a face as he realized how heavy his friend was. He motioned with his head for Lucas to follow him.

* * *

Brooke was worried sick. She had heard Tyler's shout of concern, followed by Lucas's answer right before the entire hallway had collapsed. She knew something was wrong with Stephen and she couldn't help but blame Lucas and Nathan for what happened to him.

"Brooke, you need to sit down before you stress yourself out and hurt the baby," Nathan said quietly from behind her. Brooke spun around, fully intent on biting his head off, but instead felt her heart break into a million pieces when she saw Nathan holding an unconscious Haley in his lap. He looked so lost and sad that Brooke couldn't be mad at him.

"I'm fine," she said just as softly. "I'm just—oh!"

Her eyes widened as she felt a rippling sensation in her belly. She put a hand on her stomach as it happened again.

"Brooke?" Nathan asked in concern.

"I-I think I'm going into labor," she said.


	24. Chapter 22

**Disclaimer: I do not own _One Tree Hill_ or any of its characters.**

**Author's Note: As promised, here is the next chapter of _Broken Hearts and Healing Minds_. I hope you guys like it, though it's kind of disjointed in places. Read and review please!! **

**Broken Hearts and Healing Minds**

**Chapter 21**

Sirens wailed in the distance as Lucas and Tyler managed to push their way through the rubble and out into the parking lot. Stephen was still unconscious.

Lucas sank to his knees the moment he hit stable pavement. He didn't mean to, but his legs just gave out underneath him. He let himself sink to the sidewalk, grateful for the chance to sit down.

"You okay?" Tyler asked placing a hand on his shoulder. Lucas looked up and nodded once.

"I'm fine," he said. "Just exhausted."

"I think we all are," Tyler said with a slight laugh. "I'm going to go check on Brooke and Nathan. You think you can make it to the parking lot by yourself?"

"I've made it this far, haven't I?" Lucas asked.

Tyler laughed again and nodded.

"If you need anything, just yell," he said.

"Same goes for you," Lucas said. "I'll try to help."

"Okay," Tyler said. The baseball player hesitated for a moment. "Thanks again for saving my life in there. That could have been nasty."

"Not a problem," Lucas said. "I mean, it's my job to save people from rotting floorboards that will give way and trap people in them forever. You should still get that hand checked out, though. That nail was rusted and I don't think Haley would like it if I let you die from tetanus."

"Okay, man," Tyler said clapping Lucas gently on the shoulder. "I'll send the paramedics over here once they're done with Nathan and Haley. You should get that knee looked at."

Lucas nodded once. He watched as Tyler walked away before he slowly stretched out his injured leg and leaned back against the brick wall of the apartment building.

* * *

The constant ringing of Peyton's cell phone drew her out of her nice warm bed and to her dresser, forcing her to cross the near tundra conditions of her motel room. The air conditioner was blasting on high, trying its hardest to battle the humidity and constant heat of Miami, Florida.

"Hello?" she asked running a hand through her hair. She looked at the clock. It was three am. Who the hell wanted to talk to her that early? Didn't they know she was on vacation and shouldn't be bothered unless it was absolutely necessary?

_"Peyton, it's me. We found Nathan, but it didn't turn out so well. We're all at the hospital. And by everyone, I mean Brooke, Haley, Nathan, Tyler… everyone. It's bad, Peyton. Things went really wrong when we were trying to get him out of there and no one's okay."_

"I'll be there in six hours," Peyton said instantly, not bothering to think about it or consult her father. Her friends were in trouble. Lucas was in trouble.

_"No, no, there's nothing you can do. I just wanted you to know. Stay there, please. You don't need to be here." _

"I'm going to be there," Peyton said. "If Nathan's in trouble and everyone else is, then I need to be there."

_"All right. You're amazing, you know that?"_

"I've heard rumors," Peyton said with a slight smile. The joke was her attempt to relieve the sudden fear that was building to its breaking point inside of her.

_"I'll have someone pick you up when you get here. It might be Taylor, it might be me, but there'll be someone waiting for you when you land."_

"I'll call Taylor," Peyton said. "I don't want you to have to come pick me up if you're not okay."

_"No one is okay at the moment, Peyton. I'm better off than a lot of people are."_

"I'll be there as soon as I can," Peyton promised.

She hung up the phone and scribbled a note for her father so he wouldn't think she was kidnapped or anything. Then, she grabbed the nearest items of clothing and threw them on, not caring how she looked, and grabbed her open-ended return ticket. She hoped there was a flight out soon, because she didn't know how long she could stand the wait.

* * *

Lucas wrapped the unfamiliar jacket tighter around himself and pulled the baseball cap further down on his head so people wouldn't see the bruises or the swollen eye he was sporting at the moment. He was as comfortable as he could be, sprawled out across six hospital chairs and his injured knee propped up on a stack of pillows, donated by the nursing staff. He thumbed through the magazine he had already read four times and once again glanced at the clock, frustrated that it hadn't moved since the last time he had looked at it. He wondered if it was broken. He promised himself that if Nathan was okay after everything that had happened earlier, then he would buy the hospital a faster moving clock.

"Lucas?"

He glanced up at the call of his name to Dr. Richards' concerned face. The doctor was carrying a clipboard in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other. Lucas tried to stand up, but he could barely move after the hell he had been put through earlier of dragging Nathan and Haley out of the rubble of the apartment complex and then saving Stephen's life right before a huge wooden beam fell on his head and gave the other guy a concussion.

"Stay there, I'll come to you," Dr. Richards said with a gentle smile. "You've been through a lot."

"Thanks," Lucas said. He had always liked Dr. Richards; the man was a good doctor and all around nice guy. He also didn't mind bending the rule of giving patient information only to family, especially tonight when Lucas was the only survivor of the disaster not unconscious. "Who are you here for?"

"Haley," Dr. Richards said. He gestured to the empty hospital chair beside Lucas. "Mind if I sit down?"

"Go ahead," Lucas said yawning. He was exhausted. "How is she doing?"

"She's conscious and coherent, which is more than I could have hoped for after everything that happened," Dr. Richards said. "She had to have some stitches and a splint put on her arm, but she'll be fine in a couple of weeks. I would like to keep her overnight for observation. She does have a concussion."

"Can I see her?" Lucas asked. He needed to make sure Haley was okay after the idiotic, nearly suicidal rescue mission they pulled today.

"I'd prefer it if you stay off that leg of yours," Dr. Richards said sternly. "You're lucky I didn't tie you to a hospital bed and keep you sedated. What is it with you and that brother of yours always landing yourselves in the hospital anyway? Do you two have a death wish?"

"No sir," Lucas said laughing in spite of himself. "We just like to meddle in things that we really don't need to be meddling in."

"I want to say stay out of trouble, but that would probably be bad seeing as you are my main source of business," Dr. Richards said smiling again. Lucas smiled in return as the doctor stood up. "I'll try to have one of the nurses wheel Haley out here in a little while so you're not so lonely."

"Thanks, Doc," Lucas said.

Dr. Richards nodded once before walking away. He stopped a few feet away from Lucas and turned to face him again.

"I'm going to check up on Stephen next," he said. "Do me a favor and call his mother, would you? She's probably worried sick about him. I know they have their differences, but she needs to be here for him right now."

"How bad is it back there?" Lucas asked quietly. "Is my brother going to make it?"

"I'll have to ask Dr. Lane that," Dr. Richards said gravely. "He didn't look too good when I was back there a little while ago. They were talking about surgery to repair his shoulder, but they didn't want to do it because of his starting withdrawal. Dr. Lane doesn't want to put any unnecessary stress on Nathan that can be avoided."

"I'm sorry," Lucas murmured. It was his fault that Nathan had a badly injured shoulder. He hadn't exactly been gentle in pulling him out of the wreckage. Lucas had been more concerned with getting them all out of there before the building collapsed again rather than being mothering.

"Don't be, son," Dr. Richards said. "You're the reason why they're all alive, including Nathan. The way I see it, you're a hero. Doing what you did, even though you were just as bad off as they were, I don't think anyone could have done it better."

"Thank you," Lucas said quietly.

Dr. Richards turned and walked away again. Lucas watched him disappear through the swinging doors before returning his attention once more to the magazine that was in his lap.

* * *

Peyton threw some money down on the front seat of the cab and jumped out of the car. She jogged up the steps to Tree Hill Memorial and raced toward the emergency waiting room. After getting off the phone with Lucas, she was worried sick about him. He hadn't told her what had really happened and she wanted to know why he was in the hospital again.

She scanned the waiting room and found it empty, save for an old woman in a wheelchair and some punk in a leather jacket and a ball cap stretched out across an entire row of seats looking at a magazine. Peyton's heart fell as she realized that Lucas must have called her from one of the hospital rooms, for he wasn't in the waiting room. That meant that he was in bad shape.

She attempted to calm her nerves as she walked over to the nurse's desk. Peyton highly doubted that the nurse would appreciate it if she started getting hysterical on her because her boyfriend was in the hospital.

"I'm here to see Lucas Scott," she said hating the way her voice shook.

The punk sitting nearby looked up at the sound of Peyton's voice. Peyton gasped when she saw who the boy was.

"He's sitting right over there," the nurse said pointing to the punk. Peyton nodded her thanks, barely aware of what the nurse had said, before walking over to Lucas.

"Hey," he said softly. "You came home."

"I told you I would," Peyton reminded him as she sat down in the vacant chair beside him. "How are you doing?"

"Not so great," Lucas admitted. "The morphine I was given a little while ago is wearing off and my knee is killing me. Nathan is probably going to have to have surgery. Stephen's unconscious and might not wake up. Tyler has to undergo a series of tetanus shots and Brooke went into premature labor."

"Is that all?" Peyton joked weakly. "I was worried that it might be something serious. How's Haley?"

"She, miraculously, is doing just fine," Lucas said with a soft smile. "I saw her a little while ago. She was tired as anything, but she was alive and happy."

"That's good," Peyton said. "What's with the leather jacket and ball cap?"

"All my clothes were pretty much ruined when the apartment collapsed, so Tyler loaned me a few things of his to wear," Lucas said. "Why, don't you like them?"

Peyton smiled at his weak joke. "They're actually kind of sexy," she whispered. "I like guys who wear leather jackets and ball caps."

"Mm, is that so?" Lucas asked tiredly. His eyes fell closed for a moment before he forced them back open to look at her.

"You should sleep," she said. "You've had a long day and wearing yourself out isn't going to help Nathan out at this point."

"No, I want to make sure they're going to be okay," Lucas said stubbornly.

"I'll be here," Peyton pointed out. "I'll wake you if there's any news. But Lucas, you're injured too. As much as you're trying to hide it, you must be in a lot of pain. Get some sleep. You'll feel better in the morning."

"I already feel better now," Lucas murmured leaning his head against her shoulder. "I love you."

"I love you too," she whispered. "Get some sleep."

Lucas mumbled something incoherent and within seconds, he was snoring softly. Peyton smiled at the sight of Lucas sleeping—it wasn't one she got to see very often and it was very cute. In sleep, all the pain and worry that lined his face faded away, leaving an innocent young man in its wake.


	25. Chapter 23

**Disclaimer: I do not own _One Tree Hill_ or any of its characters.**

**Author's Note: This chapter is kind of a whirlwind of emotions, going from really happy to really sad to out of left field. I hope you guys like this chapter because even though it's kind of all over the place, I like it a lot and not just for the cliffhanger at the end that hopefully you guys like but weren't expecting.**

**Read and review please! After all, reviews make the world go round!**

**Broken Hearts and Healing Minds**

**Chapter 23**

Lucas opened his eyes a few hours later, alone. He sat up, wincing as his injured ribs protested the movement, looking for Peyton. He spotted her a few feet away, talking to Dr. Richards. She looked relaxed and not nervous, which Lucas took as a good sign. That meant whoever they were talking about was going to be okay.

They finished up their conversation and Dr. Richards headed to the back again and Peyton walked over to him, a content look on her face.

"You're awake!" she said in surprise. "How're you feeling?"

"Like I've just been run over by an elephant," Lucas said with a slight chuckle. "Who was Dr. Richards talking about?"

"Stephen," Peyton said. "He woke up a couple of minutes ago. He has a huge headache, but he's going to be fine. Thanks to you—I've heard. Dr. Richards told me about how you saved Stephen's life. Nice going; guess you couldn't live without him after all."

Lucas rolled his eyes, glad to find that movement didn't hurt.

"I knew you'd probably do away with me if I let him get squashed by that beam, so I pushed him out from underneath it," he said. He wasn't about to try shrugging—his shoulders were extremely stiff and he didn't want to know what type of pain that'd cause to his ribs.

"No, him I'm pretty sure I'd be just fine living without," Peyton said brightly. "Anyway, Dr. Richards said that he and Haley would be released in a couple of hours. Still no word on Nathan, Brooke, or Tyler though. What happened to Tyler anyway?"

"He got his hand sliced open on a rusted nail. It was swelling pretty badly when we got out of the apartments," Lucas said. "And I think a rat might have bit him at one point. There certainly were a lot of them."

"Yuck," Peyton said wrinkling her nose. "That's disgusting."

"Yeah, it was," Lucas said. He sighed grunting when it made his chest hurt. "How are you doing?"

"Me?" Peyton asked shocked. "Why are you asking about me? I'm not the one that had a run in with a collapsing apartment building yesterday."

"You're the one that had to fly six hours out here at two in the morning," Lucas pointed out. "And haven't slept since."

"I slept a little bit, actually," Peyton admitted. "I was tired and didn't feel like leaving you to go get coffee, so I fell asleep. Sue me."

Lucas smirked, grimacing when it made his face twinge. Peyton gave him a sympathetic smile.

"I'm sorry that you had to be beaten up by those lunatics to get out of there," she said quietly. "Maybe next time you'll learn not to meddle in things that you don't need to be meddling in. Especially after you've had recent heart surgery and your doctor tells you to stay off your knee or you risk not walking for the rest of your life."

Behind that pretty smile, Lucas realized that Peyton was extremely pissed off at him for the nearly suicidal rescue on Nathan. Lucas was pretty upset with himself for getting so many people involved and injured. He should have planned it better or gone with Stephen's suggestion of getting police help. He was being stubborn, he knew, trying to save his brother by himself.

"I never meant to get everyone hurt," he said softly. "I just felt like that if I couldn't save Nathan myself then no one would. He's my brother, you know? I just—I didn't think about what would happen if things went wrong. I've learned my lesson."

"I understand," Peyton said. "Believe me, I understand. You were just trying to help and I love you for being that guy. I just want to kill you myself some times because you were so stupid. Like tackling Ryan and getting pulled into the river—you could have gotten yourself killed! I'm not mad at you; I just want you to think before you act. I can't live without you, Luke. I've tried and failed."

"I know," Lucas whispered as she sat down next to him. He carefully slid an arm around her shoulders. "You don't have to worry about me doing any more near suicidal rescue attempts; I think Nathan learned his lesson the hard way about using drugs to deal with his problems and I don't see you, Brooke, Haley, Stephen, or Tyler doing anything stupid."

"You'd seriously help Stephen or Tyler if they were in trouble?" Peyton asked looking surprised.

"The only reason why I hated Stephen so much to begin with was because he was everything I wanted to be," Lucas said. "And I hated Tyler because of Haley and what she had done to Nathan. But now, after you go through something like yesterday, it's kind of hard not to have a grudging friendship with them."

"Who are you and what have you done with my real boyfriend?" Peyton teased.

"He's sitting right here, he's just different," Lucas said seriously.

Peyton leaned forward and kissed him gently on the lips. Lucas was pleasantly surprised that this action did not cause his bruises to hurt.

"Brooke Davis?"

An unfamiliar doctor was standing in the doorway. Peyton instantly detached herself from Lucas and stood up.

"I'll be right back," she told him.

"I want to come with you," Lucas protested.

"Stay," she commanded. "You look like Hell. You're going to stay here."

Lucas sighed, knowing that it was for the best. He highly doubted that he could stand up right now, much less walk. He still hated feeling so helpless though.

"I'll be right back," she promised kissing his forehead before walking away. Lucas watched as she walked toward the doctor before sighing.

"Nathan Scott?"

Peyton was busy talking to Brooke's doctor when Doctor Lane came out. The doctor was a young woman with blonde hair and dark blue eyes. Lucas recognized her instantly from back when he had had heart surgery—she had been assisting his cardiologist incase anything went wrong.

Doctor Lane spotted him instantly and walked over to him. She looked exhausted, but not too worried. Apparently whatever news she had was going to be good.

"Hey, Lucas," she greeted him. "How are you holding up?"

"I'll be doing better if I know my brother is okay," Lucas said though not unkindly. He couldn't stand small talk—it made him nervous.

"Nathan's going to need a lot of help and support through the next couple of months," Dr. Lane said. "But he ought to be just fine, so long as he stays off the drugs and doesn't overdo it with his shoulder. I managed to avoid doing surgery on it, but he'll be slower to heal without it. No basketball for at least six weeks, and even then, take it _slow_. You Scott brothers are known for your idiocy when it comes to basketball, so know that if Nathan overdoes it he can lose full use of that shoulder for good, which means no basketball ever again."

"No offense, doc, but every time someone tells us that, they turn out to be wrong," Lucas pointed out. "I mean, look at me."

"Yeah, and you look like serious hell right now too," Dr. Lane shot back. "Have Nathan take it easy or I swear I'm going to make him go through with that surgery and it'll be twice as painful."

"All right, all right!" Lucas said. "I will. But just so you know, Nathan's more stubborn than I am."

"I doubt that," Dr. Lane scoffed. "I don't think anyone is as stubborn as you are. Anyway, I've got to get back to work. I'll send a nurse out to take you up to Nathan's room in a little while if you feel up to it. He should be okay to be released in tomorrow. Just remember, no drugs, okay? You can always take him to Briarwood if you don't think you can handle him by yourself."

"Okay," Lucas said. "Thanks, Dr. Lane."

The doctor nodded before standing up again and walking away. Peyton came back a few minutes later, looking extremely upset.

"Brooke had a miscarriage," she said sadly. "She lost the baby. The stress became too much for her and the baby was still in the most important stages of growth."

Lucas felt tears sting the back of his eyes as Peyton took a seat next to him sighing heavily.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "This is my fault. All of it. She shouldn't have been there in the first place. She wouldn't have been if I hadn't dragged Haley and Stephen over there. God, I'm such a selfish jackass!"

"Lucas, it is _not_ your fault Brooke had a miscarriage," Peyton said firmly but gently. "You are not to blame for this, okay? You couldn't have known that she was coming. Like you told me earlier, you didn't know that she and Tyler were coming. It was a freak accident, Luke. There was nothing you could have done."

"I should have done _something_," Lucas said self-deprecatingly. "Anything!"

"This isn't about Brooke losing her baby, is it?" Peyton asked unhappily. "You're blaming yourself for Nathan taking drugs, aren't you?"

"I should have noticed that he was acting differently," Lucas said wretchedly. "I should have been a better brother. I should have been able to help him. But I couldn't. And now, Brooke lost her baby, Nathan lost his scholarship to play basketball at Duke, his dream school, and I'm to blame for all of this."

"How many times must I go through this conversation with you idiotic Scott brothers?" Peyton demanded. "You two are so ready to blame yourselves that you don't even realize that it might not have been your fault after all, that sometimes the other person just doesn't want help and that you could have done nothing about it! Sometimes, people have miscarriages, especially if they're eighteen years old and aren't ready for a baby! Sometimes it's not your fault! Shit happens, okay? And you can't blame yourself for everything that happens or otherwise, you're going to start affecting the people around you and making them miserable too. So please, just accept for once that none of this was _your_ fault. Please."

Lucas could hardly bring himself to look in those tearful green eyes, because he knew that she was right. But he still felt that he should have been able to do something. And nothing she could say would take that feeling away. He had messed up as a brother for not noticing the signs sooner and he would never forgive himself for that.

"I know, Peyton, that there was probably nothing I could do," he said softly. "But I still feel as though there was something I should have done."

"What could you have done, Luke?" Peyton asked her voice softer now as well. She didn't wait for a reply. "You have a choice to make right now. You can either grieve for what you could have done, or you can accept the fact that some things are beyond even the famous Lucas Scott's control and work on fixing what's happening now. Don't live in the past, Luke. Live in the present and work for the future. Dwelling in the past only brings about heartache."

"Who are you and have you done with my real girlfriend?" Lucas asked smiling weakly. "You sound just like my mother, you know that? She was always saying things like that."

"Your mother was right, Lucas," she said quietly. "Both Nathan and Brooke are going to need you if they're going to get through these next few months before graduation. We're all going to need you. And you're going to need all of us."

"What would I do without you?" Lucas asked with another smile. This one had some real feeling behind it.

"I don't know. Crash and burn maybe," Peyton said with a grin. "No matter what happens next, I will always be here for you. Remember that."

"I love you," he whispered.

"And I love you too," she whispered back.

* * *

Nathan felt as though someone was attempting to drive a jackhammer through his shoulder as he slowly came to. The feeling was only made worse when a blinding pain in his head made itself known, threatening to send him back into unconsciousness.

"Hey, Nathan," he heard someone murmur.

It sounded a lot like Lucas, someone Nathan thought he'd never talk to again. He distantly remembered the hallway collapsing after he, Brooke, Tyler, and Haley had made it through the opening. Lucas had been trapped along with Stephen, he remembered. Tyler had gone back to try to save them. Nathan didn't remember whether or not they had made it out okay—he guessed he had blacked out or something. But he did remember Brooke telling him that she was going into labor. He wondered if she was okay and hoped that she was.

"Come on, Nate," Lucas's voice begged. "Open your eyes."

Nathan felt as though his brother was asking the impossible. His eyelids felt as though they had been super glued shut. And if he thought his headache was bad with his eyes closed, he didn't want to know what it was like with the lights on and his eyes open.

"Luke, Dr. Roberts wants to check your knee again," another person said. The voice sounded like Peyton's, which made even less sense than Lucas's. As far as Nathan knew, Peyton was no friend of his, especially after he had run her over and didn't apologize. Why were both of them in his room? What was going on?

"Dr. Roberts can wait," Lucas said hoarsely. He sounded as though he had been crying, which shocked Nathan more than anything else. His brother rarely cried. Something must have been wrong. But what?

"Lucas, you need to take care of yourself," a third person spoke up. Nathan felt his breath catch in his throat when he heard it. _Haley_, he thought with a mental sigh of relief. She had made it. Nathan felt as though he could sing, if only he could make his voice cooperate. Haley was alive and she was there!

"I'm fine," Lucas snapped angrily. He sounded as though he had had this conversation with them before.

"Haley's right," Peyton said gently. "You need to look after yourself before you look after Nathan and Brooke."

Brooke. The name struck a feeling of discord throughout the room. Nathan didn't have to have his eyes open to know that Lucas was feeling guilty about something involving the brunette girl.

"I'll have Dr. Roberts look at it in a little while," Lucas conceded. "After I know that Nathan is okay."

_That's an ultimatum if I've ever heard one,_ Nathan thought dryly. It was so Lucas though.

"You don't know when that could be," Haley protested.

_Good old Haley, always trying to be logical,_ he thought.

"Hales," Peyton cautioned.

There was something going on here, Nathan realized again. Something that had upset Lucas greatly and that's why the conversation the three of them were having was like walking on eggshells. Nathan wanted desperately to open his eyes and demand what the hell was going on.

"It's fine, Peyton," Lucas said resignedly. "Haley's right. But he's my brother and after everything that's happened between us, I think I owe it to him to be there for him when he wakes up, don't you?"

"No," Peyton said rather bluntly. "I've told you before, Lucas, you don't owe anyone anything. Nathan especially."

"Gee, thanks."

Nathan surprised everyone, himself included, when he forced his eyes open and managed to get his voice to work. He saw Lucas sitting in the hospital chair to his left, looking as though he had gone ten rounds with a block of cement and lost. Haley was sitting in a wheelchair beside him, looking slightly better, though Nathan couldn't help but notice the long gash that stretched from her temple to her chin and the brilliantly white cast on her wrist. Peyton stood behind both of them, arms crossed over her chest, looking as though she had been the one that beat up everyone in the room and was ready to do it again. Nathan couldn't help but smirk at the Peyton Sawyer bitch-face, even though it was directed at him.

Lucas's face brightened considerably when he realized that Nathan was awake and that it wasn't just a dream. He looked relieved, but at the same time, his eyes were guarded and suspicious. Nathan didn't blame him; if roles had been reversed, he would have acted the same way. In fact, he had acted the same when Lucas had been the one with the drug problem.

Peyton's scowl lessened and there was something resembling a smile on her face. Nathan knew his friend well enough to know that she was still pretty upset, but Nathan's awakening definitely helped cheer her up.

Haley broke into a full blown grin as she let out a squeak of excitement.

"Nathan!" she exclaimed looking as though she were about ready to jump out of the wheelchair and give him a hug. "How are you feeling? Are you okay? Of course you're not okay, you have a chunk of wood pulled out of your shoulder after a building fell on top of you. But you look okay, well for a person that has been through hell. You look better than Lucas, that's for sure."

"Thanks, Hales," Lucas said with an eye roll.

"Hey, it's just fact," Haley retorted. "Anyway, I'm so glad you're awake. We thought you weren't going to because you had a pretty massive concussion and though Dr. Lane said that you'd be fine, none of us really believed it because you have the Scott family curse of getting a simple injury and then having it blown out of proportion because you overdo it. Of course, it's kind of hard to overdo it when you're in a hospital bed, but you never know. You and Lucas are crazy prone to accidents. I mean it's seriously a Ripley's Believe It or Not thing that you two are still alive."

Nathan wondered if she had always talked this much or she was just doing it because she was anxious and relieved at the same time. He didn't care—it was good to hear her voice again after months of silence. It made him feel whole again.

He had a sneaking suspicion that she would have gone on for a while longer, but Peyton let out a huge cough and she immediately fell silent, looking slightly abashed.

"Sorry," she mumbled. "I'm just really glad that you're awake and are going to be okay."

"Me too," Nathan said. "I mean, I'm glad you're awake and okay."

Haley looked away, but not before Nathan could see the soft smile on her face and the tears in her beautiful brown eyes.

"Lucas, you should probably get that knee looked at now," Peyton said. "Nathan's awake and he's obviously okay, so you need to take care of yourself."

Nathan wondered why Peyton was mothering Lucas so much. Yes, his brother looked like he had been through Hell and back complete with dark circles under his eyes from lack of sleep, bruises covering most of his face, and oversized clothing, but he had looked worse before and managed to survive without that much attention.

"You're probably right," Lucas murmured.

That surprised Nathan more than Peyton's mothering. The fact that Lucas was letting her do it made Nathan sense that something was wrong, something none of them were telling him.

"I'm always right," Peyton teased. "Now come on, let's go before Dr. Roberts has a conniption looking for you. The poor doc might think you have another idiot of a brother that's addicted to drugs and you had to go rescue him from a collapsed building as well."

Nathan winced as her words hit him. She was really pissed at him, though she was attempting to put on a good face for Lucas. _She really loves him,_ he noted. _And he must really love her if he's allowing her to get away with all of this_.

"On that note, I better get you out of here before you try to kill my idiot of a brother," Lucas joked. He turned to Nathan. "Seriously, if you do anything like that ever again, I'll let the building finish the job. Okay?"

Nathan nodded. Although the words were threatening, he heard the concern and brotherly love behind them.

Lucas stood slowly, like an old man with arthritis. Peyton stood by, ready to be of help if he needed it. Nathan was about to ask what was going on when he saw the knee brace on Lucas's knee and instantly understood. _The idiot,_ he thought. _Always putting others before himself. How could I have not remembered that Lucas will stop at nothing to save someone he cares about? Oh right. Drugs. I have got to stop doing those._

"You're going to be okay, right Luke?" Nathan asked unable to keep the tremor of fear and worry out of his voice. He knew that he wouldn't be able to get through this without his brother. He needed his brother to be there if he wanted to kick this drug addiction.

"I'll be fine," Lucas promised. He took a couple of steps away from the bed. Peyton put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"You'll come back later?" Nathan questioned. He didn't know why he was being so clingy, but he really wanted his brother back.

"Yeah, I will," Lucas assured him with a soft smile. He touched Haley's shoulder as he limped by. Haley looked up and nodded about something Lucas had whispered. Then, he and Peyton had left the room, leaving Haley and Nathan alone for the first time in months.

"I've got a confession," Haley said quietly, turning back to face him. Nathan looked at her imploringly. "I've been denying this for a very long time so I wouldn't hurt Tyler, but after what happened yesterday at Oak Ridge and what happened to Brooke with the miscarriage and all made me realize that life is really short."

"Brooke had a miscarriage?" Nathan questioned shocked beyond belief.

Haley looked guilty.

"I guess we kind of forgot to mention that," she said. "Yes, she had a miscarriage. She lost the baby and she's been in a dark place ever since she found out about it. In case you didn't notice, Lucas has been taking it really hard. He's been blaming himself for what happened."

Nathan nodded, understanding instantly. It explained why Peyton had been overprotective of him.

"Anyway, that's not what I was going to tell you," Haley said looking nervous again. "As I said, life is really short. Too short to deny the sorts of things that people spend all their lives looking for when you have it right in front of you."

"Haley, would you stop beating around the bush and tell me what's on your mind?" Nathan asked with a soft smile. He couldn't help but find her adorable when she got nervous and started babbling like the way she was now.

"This is going to be a really big shock to you, Nathan," she cautioned. "Or maybe not. I mean, everyone else has been saying that we still are, even though we've been denying it."

"Hales?"

"Sorry. What I'm trying so hard to say is that I love you. I'm in love with you. I don't think I ever stopped. Turning down your proposal was the worst mistake of my life, Nathan, and I understand if you don't feel the same about me. But I want you to know, I love you."


	26. Chapter 24

**Disclaimer: I do not own _One Tree Hill_ or any of its characters.**

**Author's Note: Sorry it has taken me a week to update. School started and I've barely had time to relax, let alone finish off this chapter. So with apologies for the delay, here's the next chapter.**

**Author's Note 2: Has anyone else outside of me been missing the Nathan and Lucas brotherly moments that have been few and far between in this story? If you have, your wait has finally been rewarded! **

**Read and review please! After all, reviews make the world go round!**

**Broken Hearts and Healing Minds**

**Chapter 24**

Nathan stared at Haley in shock, wondering if he had heard correctly. She had just said that she was in love with him, hadn't she? But that was impossible, his brain screamed at him. She was with Tyler. Haley couldn't still have feelings for him. Especially when he still had feelings for her; it was just too unreal. It was like a really good dream. Nathan decided then and there that if this was a dream, he didn't want to wake up from it.

"Nathan?" Haley questioned her brown eyes looking anxious.

"Look, Hales," he said trying to find a way to say this without sounding like a complete ass. He was stunned that she said she loved him and he felt the same way, but they hadn't had a real conversation in months. They hadn't been friends in months. They didn't know each other anymore. And as much as Nathan hated to admit it, they couldn't be together because of it. They needed to get to know each other again and move on from there.

"This is where you say that you don't feel the same way because you've already moved on," she said. "It's okay. I understand."

Haley got up to leave.

"Wait a second! That is not what I was going to say!" Nathan protested.

"It wasn't?" Haley asked raising an eyebrow.

"No," Nathan said firmly. "What I was going to say was that I do feel the same way about you. I still love you, Haley. But think about everything that has happened over the past couple of months. I feel as though I don't know you anymore and I know you have to feel the same way about me. And besides, I really don't think that relationship is best between us right now. Not because of you, but because of me. But I don't want to lose you again, Hales. I don't want to go months without talking to you. It sucks."

"Then what are you suggesting we do?" Haley wanted to know. "I can't change the way I feel about you and I can't keep stringing Tyler along. It's not fair to him and it's not fair to me. It's not fair to you, either, to see us like that when you know that I am still in love with you."

"I know," Nathan said quietly. "But I think, for the time being, that we should just be friends. Get to know each other again and see if we still really love each other. If you want to break up with Tyler, then go ahead. But know that if you do, I won't be able to be with you until I've fully kicked this drug addiction."

"That sounds fair," Haley allowed. "As long as I can be in your life again Nathan, I don't care if we're just friends that are madly in love with each other."

Nathan smiled softly at her attempt at sarcasm. He was glad that she didn't try to force them to be something he couldn't handle right now and just accepted the fact that they needed to be friends for a little while before making the step back to being what they had been.

"That about sums it up," he agreed.

* * *

Lucas sat unwillingly down on the hospital bed, ignoring the painful twinge in his knee at the change in position. He didn't want to be locked in another hospital room for hours on end while Dr. Roberts told him that he needed to rest and then proceeded to poke and prod him with needles.

Peyton shot him a sympathetic smile as she took a seat in the corner nearest the bed. She understood his frustrations at being in the hospital probably better than anyone else. However, the smile did little to soothe Lucas's growing anxiety about being here.

Dr. Roberts had told him a couple of hours ago that he had wanted to run some tests on Lucas's heart to determine whether or not the heart surgery had worked. Lucas had a feeling that Dr. Roberts was about to tell him some really bad news.

"Peyton, for the last time, you can go back to Nathan and Haley," he said bobbing his good leg up and down nervously. "You don't need to be here."

"I want to be here," Peyton said fixating him with an annoyed glare. "And besides, how else are you going to get back to the waiting room without my help?"

"I can walk just fine by myself," Lucas snapped. "I managed without you earlier going from the emergency room to the waiting room."

"If you don't want me to be here, then tell me," Peyton said with a sigh. "Because I certainly don't want to be here if you're just going to sit here and bitch me out about it."

"Sorry," Lucas murmured. "I want you here. It's just that I'm—it's not really anything to worry about, but Dr. Roberts ran some tests on my heart earlier. You know, just to check to make sure everything from the surgery worked out okay."

"And?" Peyton asked looking fearful. Lucas understood and felt intensely guilty—he hadn't wanted to worry her about this, which was why he didn't want to tell her in the first place.

"I'm going to find out the results here in a few minutes," Lucas said. "If I'm a jackass to you, it's not you I'm mad at. I'm frustrated and scared as Hell that I have to wait, that something might have gone wrong, that I might not be able to spend the rest of my life with you."

They looked deeply into each other's eyes for a few moments. Up until then, Peyton and Lucas had never really talked about the future or made any mentions to it because they were both scared of losing each other again. Neither wanted to go through the same heartbreak they went through last time they broke up. Lucas felt that if he made any sort of promise to be there in the future, fate would intervene and break them apart and he knew that Peyton felt the same.

An uneasy silence fell over them. Lucas wasn't sure what to say and by the look on Peyton's face, she wasn't too certain either. Though both were used to waiting around to find out if a loved one was going to make it or not, probably a little too accustomed to the fact, this was different. Lucas couldn't exactly put a finger on what was different, but it felt strange. Alien. And he didn't like the feeling.

"I'm sorry to keep you two waiting, but I had a last minute emergency with the Morrison kid that I needed to attend to," Dr. Roberts said as he swept into the room.

Lucas started at the sound of the doctor's voice and the words he said. He hoped nothing had gone wrong with Tyler—he would never forgive himself if something had.

"What happened?" Peyton asked her green eyes wide with worry. Lucas found her hand with his and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"He had an unexpected reaction to one of the drugs we gave him," Dr. Roberts said. "But no worries, he's going to be just fine. He'll be released this afternoon to go home. I think Stephen's with him now if you want to go visit him Peyton. I would like to speak with Lucas alone."

Peyton looked in bemusement from Lucas to Dr. Roberts. Lucas merely shrugged—he had no idea what was going on anymore than she did.

Looking slightly hurt and extremely confused, Peyton said good-bye to Lucas with a promise that she would meet him in the waiting room in a few minutes before leaving the room.

"What's wrong, Doc?" Lucas asked as soon as Peyton was out of earshot. "I wouldn't have minded her staying."

"I know," Dr. Roberts said with a heavy sigh. "But unfortunately, you might change your mind after I tell you what's going on. I told you that I conducted some tests on your heart. They came back and the prognosis doesn't look too good."

"What does that mean?" Lucas asked unable to keep his voice from shaking ever so slightly. Did it mean that he had undergone all that pain for nothing? That he had wasted a month and a half of his life for nothing? That he was going to die in four and a half months anyway?

"It means that although the heart surgery lessened the effects of the HCM, the heart condition didn't fully go away," Dr. Roberts said rubbing at his eyes with his free hand.

"What?" Lucas asked dumbfounded.

"You still have HCM," Dr. Roberts said slowly. "But it's not nearly as bad as it was before. Provided you stay on your medication and don't abuse them, you'll be fine."

"How did this happen? You said that if I had this surgery then everything would be fine!" Lucas protested angrily. He still had the damned heart condition that made his life miserable. What sort of sick karma was that? He had done everything he had to right the bad things he had done over the past seventeen years of his life and yet he was still dealt with this? Why? Was it because he hadn't been a better brother to Nathan? Was it because he had killed Ryan? That had been an accident and as for Nathan, Lucas would never be able to forgive himself for that. So why did he still have HCM after the surgery?

"I said that there was a possibility that it might not take away the HCM," Dr. Roberts reminded him. "I'm sorry that this has happened to you, Lucas, but there is really nothing I could have done to prevent it. There was nothing anyone could have done, not even you. You're just going to have to accept that some things happen and there's nothing you can do to stop them."

"Are you speaking of just the HCM or the fact that I nearly got everyone killed two days ago?" Lucas asked bitterly.

Lucas knew that no one was too happy with him right now because of what he had done. Sure, no one was going to come out and say that they were pissed at him because Nathan was okay and no one had died, but Lucas could tell in the way that Stephen had reacted toward him that he was going to be blamed for what had happened to Tyler and Brooke. And Lucas didn't care—he felt as though he deserved it.

"Lucas, it's not my place to judge what happened," Dr. Roberts said. "And I don't. I'm just telling you that being angry about still have HCM isn't going to change anything. You have lived with it before and survived. You're just going to have to learn how to deal with it again. And this time it will be easier because you'll know your limits better then before."

"I'm sorry," Lucas murmured. He hadn't meant to go off on the doctor like that—he was just hurting and more scared than he was willing to admit of having this disease again.

"It's okay, Lucas," Dr. Roberts said gently. "I'll write up a prescription for you so you can get it filled. In the mean time, stay off the knee as much as possible until it fully heals. Even then, don't do anything too stupid like lifting any buildings off of people or carrying heavy things. You don't need any more problems to deal with."

"Okay," Lucas agreed. "May I go see Peyton now? I have a lot to tell her about."

"So you're not going to keep this a secret?" Dr. Roberts asked looking surprised.

"Keeping secrets only hurts people," Lucas said wisely. "Besides, Peyton deserves to know. You shouldn't have asked her to leave."

"Doctor patient confidentiality laws," Dr. Roberts said with a shrug.

"You didn't seem to mind breaking them for Tyler, Stephen, Haley, or Brooke," Lucas pointed out. He shook his head. "Thank you, though, for letting me decide to tell her on my own."

"You're welcome," Dr. Roberts said. "Now I've got some other patients to tend to. I hope not to see you or any of your friends for a long time."

"No offense, but I doubt any of us will be overly thrilled to see you again inside of this hospital," Lucas said as he slowly got off the exam table and leaned most of his weight on his good leg.

"Good-bye, Lucas," Dr. Roberts said.

With that, the doctor turned and walked out of the room, leaving Lucas alone to dwell on his thoughts.

* * *

Nathan was bored. Haley had left a little while ago, and after stopping by briefly to make sure he was still alive, Peyton had left too. There had been no news about Lucas or what the doctor's appointment was about earlier that day. There had also been no news about Tyler or Brooke either, both of whom Nathan had heard very little about. Haley had flat out refused to talk about her cousin and neither Peyton nor Haley were very good friends with Tyler.

Nathan was busy channel surfing when the door to his hospital room opened and in limped a very wet looking Lucas. Nathan looked up in surprise at his older brother, shocked by how exhausted Lucas looked with dark circles underneath his red rimmed eyes. He looked as though he had been very upset by something and had been thrown into a swimming pool wearing all of his clothes.

"Luke?" Nathan questioned uncertainly. He didn't know how he was supposed to react to seeing his brother—unsure as to whether Lucas was siding with Peyton on the mad as hell team or with Haley on the _I love you_ team. It'd be slightly creepy, in Nathan's opinion, if it were the latter. Still he wasn't sure if he could handle Lucas being apart of the former either.

"Hey, Nate," Lucas said quietly, walking unsteadily over to the hospital chair that had up until an hour ago been Haley's. "How're you feeling?"

"I'm okay," Nathan said. It was the truth, more or less. He felt as though he had been sat on by a two-ton elephant and it didn't help that his head was aching and he really wanted to take a dose of opium, but at the same time, he was finally glad to be able to think clearly and really see what was going on around him. He had hated being paranoid all the time and the fuzzy feeling he had constantly thanks to the drugs. Another bonus was the fact that he no longer had to worry about Gavin or Jed or any of the other drug dealers coming after him. He could finally get a decent night's sleep, which was something he was in desperate need of.

"That makes one of us," Lucas said with a quiet chuckle. "You look like Hell, man."

"Have you seen a mirror lately?" Nathan retorted.

He noted that while Lucas hadn't been openly hostile, he was still being guarded with his words around Nathan. It made sense. Lucas had probably felt betrayed when he found out that Nathan had been using drugs and didn't know what to expect. Nathan understood.

"Yeah, yeah, but I'm not the one in the hospital bed," Lucas pointed out. "Speaking of which, I've come to spring you. Dr. Lane said that you could be released in a few hours if you promise not to go back to doing drugs and move back into the apartment."

Nathan was smart enough to know that when Lucas said _the apartment_ it meant Lucas's apartment and not the piece of crap that was now buried underneath two thousand pounds of rubble. After all, it didn't take a genius to figure that one out.

"Fair enough," Nathan said eager to get out of the hospital room.

"She mentioned something about going to rehab too," Lucas said a dark look crossing his other wise calm eyes.

Nathan understood that one too. Lucas had gone to rehab three years ago and had come back seriously changed. He had refused to talk about it and had looked as though he had gone through serious hell. He obviously had mixed feelings about Nathan going to rehab, which surprised Nathan.

"You don't want me to go," he commented.

"No, I don't," Lucas said looking anywhere but at Nathan, which annoyed the heck out of the youngest Scott brother. He needed to be able to figure out why Lucas was reacting the way he was—but he couldn't see his brother's face.

"Why?" Nathan wanted to know.

"I made a promise to myself that I was going to save you, Nathan. Sending you away to rehab probably would be the easiest way to do that, but it would feel like _I_ failed you. I'm probably being selfish, but I don't want you to go," Lucas said quietly. "And I believe that you're strong enough to kick this on your own. That you were using drugs because you felt as though no one was there to help you. And that's something I plan on changing and I don't think rehab would help that."

Nathan was shocked by the admission. It made him realize just how much faith Lucas had in him and it was slight daunting to have to live up to it. Nathan finally understood how much of his own problems Lucas took personally and felt ten times more guilty for ever doing that to his brother. Lucas hadn't deserved any of what Nathan had done to him in the past few months and Nathan hated the fact that throughout it all, Lucas was still trying his damndest to help him.

_How could I have been such a jackass?_ Nathan wondered.

"I'm sorry, Lucas," he said. It was pathetic as far as apologies went—he knew that he owed Lucas so much more for what the older Scott had done—but it was all Nathan could offer at the moment.

"Don't be," Lucas said with a shake of his head. "I should have been there for you more than I was. I should have noticed the signs."

"Don't do that," Nathan said harshly. "Don't make this your fault. You weren't the one who forced me to do all that crap."

"If it wasn't me, then what was?" Lucas demanded. "I know it was my fault that you were shot that day on the river court. I know it was my fault that Deb and Dan split up. I know it's my fault that you don't have a father anymore."

"Shut up!" Nathan shouted. "None of that is your fault, okay? Deb and Dan would have ended eventually, I still wouldn't have a father because Dan is an ass, and it was Ryan's fault I was shot! It's also not your fault that I'm an idiot, that Haley rejected my proposal, that I went off the deep end, that we all were in the apartment when it collapsed, or that I freaking attacked you twice! Okay? It's not your damn fault! It's mine!"

Lucas stared at him for a moment. Nathan realized that it was the first time he had ever seen Lucas dumfounded.

"Even still," Lucas said after a few minutes. His face was back to its usual calm, tranquil manner that irked Nathan to no end. "I'm still going to do my damndest to try to save you."

"Good," Nathan said hating the tears that pricked the back of his eyes. "Cause I'm going to need all the help I can get."


	27. Chapter 25

**Disclaimer: I do not own _One Tree Hill_ or any of its characters.**

**Author's Note: Yay!! Another update!! Celebrate!! Woot!... back away slowly... author has had way too much free time at school and it's starting to go to her head... Haha. Anyway, there is a new update, obviously, and I hope you all enjoy it as much as I've enjoyed writing it. Be warned, though, this chapter is kind of redundant. But there is some sweet Lucas/Peyton interaction at the very end and some Naley interaction! **

**Author's Note 2: Things will begin to pick up again in the next chapter as I start the next round of interesting thinrgs (cough torture cough) I plan on doing to these characters. Hope you all are interested!**

**Read and review please! After all, reviews make the world go round!**

**Broken Hearts and Healing Minds**

**Chapter 25**

Rain was falling steadily as Lucas and Nathan made their way slowly from Stephen's car to the apartment. Stephen had offered them full use of his car for a while, since Nathan had sold theirs to pay off his debt and Stephen was planning on staying at the hospital with Tyler and catching a ride home with his parents. Lucas was grateful for it meant that he didn't have to walk the three and a half miles home in the rain with a bad leg like he had earlier that day.

"God, I've missed this place," Nathan murmured beside Lucas as they made their way to the safety of the covered stairwell.

Lucas merely grunted as he hiked up the stairs behind his brother. He wasn't going to admit it to Nathan, but his leg was really beginning to bother him and he just wanted to get inside and sleep for a month. But he had homework to catch up on, work later that afternoon, and a meeting with Dan about repaying him for the practically useless heart surgery. He didn't have time to sleep or catch up with Nathan about anything—not if he wanted to keep a roof over their heads and stay in school.

Lucas fumbled with the key and the lock for a moment before getting the door open and allowing Nathan into the apartment.

"Umm, I kind of gave your bedroom to Stephen when he moved in here, so you can have mine," Lucas told Nathan as the younger Scott moved toward his bedroom.

"No, its okay, I'll just take the couch," Nathan said a flash of hurt briefly crossing his face.

"Just take the damn bedroom," Lucas growled limping toward the kitchen.

Nathan was quiet for a minute, making Lucas feel instantly guilty for snapping at his brother. The guy had been through enough—he didn't need a grouchy older brother taking all his anger and frustrations out on him.

"If you're sure," Nathan murmured. He moved to go toward Lucas's room.

"Nate, wait a second," Lucas called cursing when he ran his injured leg against the door jam. He freaking hated casts.

Nathan paused at the bedroom door and turned to look at Lucas. Lucas realized that Nathan looked as bad as he felt, with dark circles underneath his eyes and a pale, drawn face. The black sling holding Nathan's injured arm against his chest only made the younger Scott look more pathetic.

"What?" Nathan asked.

"I'm sorry," Lucas said quietly. "You want some pizza? I think there's some leftover from a couple of days ago. I don't know about you, but I'm starving."

Nathan nodded hesitantly and walked slowly over to the island and took a seat. Lucas got the pizza out of the fridge and put it on a paper plate to heat it up. Lucas was reminded forcefully of his first few months at Dan's house when he had been addicted to Zoloft and how he had reacted to everyone then. He realized right then how hard it must have been for Nathan, Peyton, and Haley to be around him when he was that out of his mind. He fully appreciated now the way they had stuck by him through everything. Lucas made a promise to himself to do the same for Nathan, no matter what happened.

"Here," Lucas said shoving the paper plate full of pizza toward Nathan. "Eat as much of that as you want. If you're still hungry, there's some take-out from the café you might like."

"Aren't you going to eat anything?" Nathan questioned as he took a bite out of the pizza.

"I'm not hungry," Lucas said with a shrug. It was a lie—but he doubted that his stomach would be able to handle food at the moment. He had too many thoughts racing through his head, several of which involved what had happened over the past couple of days, and they were making him sick.

"Oh," Nathan said quietly.

A few minutes passed. Nathan finished off what was left of the pizza before looking expectantly at Lucas.

"What?" he asked uneasy at being looked at quite so closely. It was unnerving. The last time someone had looked at him that closely had ended up trying to shoot him and drowning in the river at the river court.

"You seem really out of it," Nathan commented. "Is everything okay?"

Lucas debated whether he should tell Nathan the truth. Nathan already had a lot to deal with at the moment and didn't need the added worry of Lucas having HCM. On the other hand, Lucas knew that Nathan would eventually find out and be pissed at Lucas for not telling him sooner. Lucas decided to go for the truth.

"Not really," Lucas confessed. "You know I had a doctor's appointment today, right?"

Nathan nodded as he got up and grabbed a glass.

"Yeah, Peyton had to all but kick you out of my hospital room," he said. "Want something to drink?"

"No, thanks," Lucas said. "Anyway Dr. Roberts had run some tests earlier to check to make sure the heart surgery did its job and all."

"And?" Nathan asked his voice growing quiet.

"It worked—to an extent," Lucas said hesitantly.

"What does that mean, _to an extent_?" Nathan demanded.

"It means that I still have HCM, but it's not nearly as bad as it was before," Lucas said studying the cabinets. He realized just how many cracks there were in the time it took for Nathan to process the news and formulate a response. There were nine total.

"Oh shit."

"That's intelligent," Lucas said sarcastically. He sighed heavily. "Look, I didn't tell you this to make you worried. I'll be fine. Actually, it was kind of beginning to weird me out about not having HCM. I've survived with it before; I can survive with it again."

"You're an idiot," Nathan commented.

"I've been told that before," Lucas said with a shrug. He winced as pain shot through his shoulders and back—they were still extremely sore. "But what am I being an idiot about this time?"

"You're acting like it's not that big of a deal when everyone can see that it you're really scared to Hell," Nathan said.

"I am acting like it's not that big of a deal because it's not," Lucas said. "And yeah, I'm scared as Hell, but there's nothing I can do to change anything, so I choose not to worry about it and focus on the things I can change."

"Like me," Nathan murmured.

"Yeah," Lucas replied quietly. "I'm not going to pester you into telling me why you did it. I hated it when you guys did that to me, so I'm just not going to do that. If you want to talk, I'm here, if not, then well, whatever. But in the meantime, I've got a ton of homework to do and I've got to get to work at some point today. So, stay away from the drugs, watch some TV, take your pain meds, and don't be too harsh on Stephen when he gets back from the hospital."

"Yes _mom_," Nathan replied teasingly. "Seriously, Luke, if there's anything I can do to help you out, let me know. It's my fault that you've got so much crap going on."

"Deal with your drug addiction and get over it," Lucas said bluntly as he stood up from the table and headed toward the living room. "That's all I need you to do right now. You can start helping out later. Besides, Stephen's got a job running the baseball clinic in town for the next couple of months, so we're set until graduation."

"Luke?"

Lucas paused at the door to the living room. He turned back to the kitchen.

"Yeah Nate?"

"Thanks again for saving my life."

"You're welcome."

* * *

Haley walked slowly up the steps to Nathan and Lucas's apartment, biting her lower lip against the stabbing pain in her arm. She was supposed to be at Peyton's house, resting, but she had snuck out earlier with a dire need to talk to Lucas. Haley was really regretting the action now. The talk with Lucas could have waited until later, when it wasn't raining, when Peyton could have driven her, and when she was feeling better.

Haley reached the apartment door and knocked, casting a look around as she waited for someone to open the door. It had become a nervous habit of hers ever since the attack with Ryan over six months ago. She noticed that one of the apartment inhabitants next to Nathan and Lucas was moving out. Interesting, she thought. Before Brooke had had her miscarriage, she had been looking for an apartment

The door opened to reveal an exhausted looking Nathan. He brightened considerably when he saw Haley standing on the other side of the door.

"Haley! Hi!" he said opening the door wider to let her in. "What are you doing here?"

Haley smiled at his enthusiastic greeting, glad that someone was glad to see her. Peyton had been silent the entire car ride back to her house and hadn't said a word for the past two hours.

"I was actually looking for Lucas," she admitted. "Is he home?"

"I don't know," Nathan said honestly as they walked into the apartment. "You can check the living room; I think he was in there before I went to sleep. He might have gone to work by now."

"The idiot's seriously going to work today?" Haley demanded. "Is he crazy?"

"Yeah, probably," Nathan said with a sigh. "But you try telling him he can't do something. You know how he is, probably better than I do."

"I guess," Haley agreed thinking back to the several times someone had tried to tell Lucas he couldn't do something. Lucas had always succeeded in doing what he wanted and the other person was pretty much left in the dust. It was always wise to just let Lucas do his own thing, no matter how freaking stupid it was.

"Yeah, so, you can check to see if he's in the living room. If he's not, then he's probably at the café," Nathan said. "Is there anything I can help you with?"

"No, I just really need to talk to Lucas," Haley said feeling guilty. She hadn't really talked to Nathan in over three months.

"It's fine, I was going to go back to sleep anyway," Nathan said yawning as if to prove his point. "I've forgotten what sleeping in a real bed feels like."

"I'm sorry, Nathan," Haley murmured knowing that it was probably her fault that he took the drugs in the first place.

"Don't be," Nathan said softly. "It wasn't your fault and it will never be your fault."

Haley nodded once, swallowing around the sudden lump in her throat as she watched him walk down the hallway to Lucas's room.

Sighing, Haley walked over to the living room door and knocked softly. She heard faint music playing in the room beyond, but received no answer. Haley knew that Lucas was in there; he never left the house without turning off his music, so she slowly pushed open the door and made her way into the dimly lit living room.

Lucas was sprawled out on the couch, fast asleep, with a textbook open across his chest. His injured leg was propped up on the arm of the sofa with an icepack underneath it. Haley smiled softly at the sight, wondering how many times she had found him like this in the past.

With a silent laugh, Haley walked over to Lucas and gently picked up the textbook, marked his place, and laid it on the ground. Then she grabbed the blanket lying across the back of the couch and covered him with it.

Turning off the light, Haley turned and walked toward the door to the living room, casting one last glance at Lucas before leaving the room.

Nathan was sitting in the kitchen with a glass of water when Haley walked back in. He looked up at her, surprise and confusion evident on his face.

"Is he already at work?" he asked.

"No, he's asleep," Haley said honestly. "Guess American history wasn't that interesting to him."

"Good," Nathan said with a nod. "So… what did you need to talk to Lucas about?"

Haley hesitated, not really sure if she wanted to tell Nathan or not. It really had nothing to do with him; she just wanted Lucas's advice on what she should do about the creepy emails she had been getting lately. Nathan could probably help her, but she wanted him to focus more on getting better than worrying about her.

"What is it, Hales?" Nathan asked looking concerned.

"It's nothing," Haley said. "I can just come back later when Lucas is awake."

"That might be a while," Nathan cautioned.

"That's fine," Haley said with a shrug. "He needs to sleep. According to Peyton, he hasn't actually slept since—uh…"

"Since before I left," Nathan filled in. "Figures. The guy is such an idiot sometimes!"

"Don't," Haley said harshly. "He saved your life the other day, remember? Don't insult him."

"It's kind of hard to forget," Nathan said with a heavy sigh. "You know what? I don't really want to talk about him anymore."

"Then what do you want to talk about?" Haley asked as she took the seat across from him.

"You're staying?" Nathan asked in astonishment.

"You think I want to go back to Peyton's House of the Living Dead?" Haley shot back. "Besides, it's only a matter of time before she comes over here anyway. I'll just catch a ride home with her then."

"Okay," Nathan said agreeably. "I'm glad you're staying."

"I'm glad I am too," Haley admitted.

* * *

Peyton changed the song on her iTunes list, not really feeling like listening to _Summer Breeze_. She shifted her gaze from her computer screen to her sketchpad as _Spinning_ by Jack's Mannequin started to play. Peyton smiled as her gaze rested on the sketch in front of her. It had been so long since she had felt inspired to draw a picture, but after seeing Haley and Nathan together and actually having a civil conversation, Peyton felt the hidden artist inside of her stir. The piece of sketch paper in front of her was no masterpiece, but it was still a nice depiction of her two friends.

Peyton was halfway finished coloring in Haley's face when footsteps sounded on the staircase. Startled, she set down the colored pencil and shut off her music. The footsteps grew louder as they approached her room. Half frightened, Peyton reached for the baseball bat that Stephen had given her while they had still been dating when her door opened and Brooke walked in, looking utterly defeated.

"Brooke!" Peyton exclaimed. "I didn't know you were being released today!"

"Yeah, well, neither did I," Brooke said. "Dr. Meyer sprang it on me at the last minute."

"That's good, isn't it?" Peyton asked trying to be friendly. She sensed that there was a stewing anger behind Brooke's otherwise saddened demeanor, one she didn't understand.

"I guess," Brooke said. "Is Lucas here? I need to talk to him."

Peyton looked around her room pointedly and then back at Brooke.

"He's at the apartment with Nathan," she told her. "Along with Haley, I think, if she's not sleeping in her room."

"Oh. Well, if Lucas does come over here, can you tell him that I want to talk to him?" Brooke asked. "I really need to."

"You can always go over there," Peyton pointed out. "I'm sure Nathan and Haley wouldn't mind seeing you."

"Thanks, but I'd rather talk to Lucas alone," Brooke said. She turned to leave, but Peyton stopped her.

"If you're going to yell at him, save your breath," Peyton told her. "He's been through enough and doesn't need you adding to the guilt he's feeling."

"He's right to feel guilty," Brooke snapped. "If it wasn't for him, then neither Haley nor Stephen would have been injured. Tyler wouldn't have ended up with blood poisoning. I wouldn't have ended up losing my baby."

She said the last part so softly that Peyton barely heard her. Peyton couldn't help but feel sympathetic toward her, even though she was pissed off beyond belief by what she had just said.

"It wasn't Lucas's fault that you and Tyler decided to go after Stephen, Haley and him. It wasn't Lucas's fault that you had a miscarriage. It wasn't his fault, Brooke! And blaming him for something he didn't do, for something he had no control over, that's petty and low, even for you," Peyton said icily.

"He dragged Stephen into it!" Brooke shouted. "He gave Stephen a concussion."

"By saving Stephen's life!" Peyton yelled back. "The only reason why Stephen is still alive is because Lucas saved pushed him out from underneath that beam. Lucas could have been killed, Brooke, just as easily as Stephen could have!"

"All you care about is Lucas, Lucas, Lucas! You have never cared about Stephen! So why does it matter to you if Stephen ahs a concussion or that Tyler had blood poisoning or that I had a miscarriage and lost the only thing in the world that really mattered to me?" Brooke demanded.

"Brooke! Are you listening to yourself? I care about you because you're my friend, as are Stephen and Tyler! I care about the fact that you all could have been killed! I care about the fact that you lost your baby, and I'm sorry for that, but it is _not_ Lucas's fault. If you want to blame someone, blame Nathan because he was the one that got you all sucked into that mess. Hell, blame yourself, Brooke! You're the one that ended up going after them! You're the reason why Tyler got dragged into the mess! You were the one that got all stressed out and had a miscarriage!"

The sound of Brooke's slap reverberated throughout the entire room. Peyton's head snapped to the side from the force of the blow. She put a hand to her cheek, shocked by what the brunette had done.

"Don't you dare say that!" Brooke shouted. "Don't you dare! This is _not_ my fault! It's not my fault that Nathan had a drug addiction, it's not my fault that Lucas is a freaking martyr, and it's not my fault that Lucas had to drag everyone into all of this! Don't you frigging dare, Peyton Elizabeth Sawyer, accuse this of being my fault! You weren't even there, so how the Hell would you know?"

Peyton felt tears sting the back of her eyes as Brooke's words forcefully reminded her of the fact that she hadn't been there, despite the fact that she would have given anything to have been able to help out.

"Get the Hell out of my house right now," she said quietly. Peyton doubted that even Brooke was dense enough not to hear the malice in her voice.

"Gladly," Brooke snarled before whirling around and storming out of the bedroom.

Peyton waited until she was certain that Brooke was gone before flopping on her bed. She was unable to stop the tears that started flowing freely down her face. She curled her knees against her chest and buried her head in her hands. Sobs wracked through her as she tried desperately to make them stop.

"I should have been there," she whispered through her tears. "I should have been there."

Feeling a suddenly desperate urge to go see Lucas and apologize for not being there, Peyton slid off the bed and wiped the tears from her eyes. She grabbed her rain jacket from where it hung off the back of her chair and headed out into the freezing downpour.

* * *

Nathan and Haley were just putting the dishes away from their dinner they had together when Peyton burst through the front door, feeling as though she had just run a marathon.

"Hey, Peyton," Nathan said quietly.

"Hey. Is Lucas around? I really need to talk to him," Peyton said as she shed her wet jacket and put it on the back of one of the island chairs.

"He's asleep at the moment," Haley told her. "I went in there about ten minutes ago to check on him and he was passed out."

"Oh," Peyton said feeling ill at ease with Brooke's words from earlier bouncing through her head. "Do you mind if I go see him anyway?"

"Go ahead," Nathan said with a nod toward the living room door. "Tell him there's Chinese food in the fridge if he wants any."

"Okay," Peyton said. "Thanks!"

She walked to the living room door, hesitating as she reached out to grab it. She felt Haley and Nathan's eyes on her.

"Oh, Haley, Tyler was released from the hospital earlier today," she said turning back toward them. "Stephen called me about an hour ago. He said that Tyler wanted to talk to you about something important."

"Thanks, Peyton," Haley said nodding. "I should probably call him."

"Okay," Nathan murmured. "Do you still want to watch the movie afterward?"

Feeling awkward and out of place, Peyton gently pushed open the door and walked into the darkened living room.

Waiting a moment for her eyes to adjust to the sudden darkness, Peyton walked carefully over to the couch. She spotted a big lump near the foot of the couch that was obviously his book bag and made to move around it. There was a sudden pain in her toe, one that made her yelp and let out a low curse.

"P-ton?"

Peyton blinked as the lamp behind the couch was turned on and Lucas started bleary-eyed at her. He still looked as exhausted as he had the last time Peyton had seen him.

"Hey, Luke," she said quietly, feeling tears well up in her eyes again. "Go back to sleep."

"Are you okay?" he questioned his voice hoarse from sleep.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she said biting her lip to keep the tears from falling.

"C'mere, Peyton," he murmured holding an arm open to her.

It was all the invitation she needed to go and curl up on the couch with him. She buried her face in his shoulder.

"I'm sorry," she cried. "I'm sorry I wasn't there."

"It's going to be okay," he murmured as she let the tears fall down her face for the second time that day. "You're okay. I'm here. Everyone's going to be fine. Shh, Peyton. It's going to be okay."


	28. Chapter 26

**Disclaimer: I do not own _One Tree Hill_ or any of its characters.**

**Author's Note: Sorry for taking so long to update... I was having some real issues with this chapter. **

**Author's Note 2: I know I promised to make this chapter a little more interesting... but it ended up just setting up for the next chapter, which will hopefully be up sometime in the next few days.**

**Read and review please! After all, reviews make the world go round!**

**Broken Hearts and Healing Minds**

**Chapter 26**

The living room was lit by a dim, flickering light when Lucas opened his eyes again. He smiled as he felt Peyton's familiar warmth curled up into a ball next to him on the spacious couch and Nathan and Haley sprawled out sound asleep on the floor. They had come in late during the night previous to watch a movie when Nathan had thought that Lucas and Peyton were asleep. Lucas had actually been awake, but decided not to tell Haley or Nathan that, figuring that they might want some time away from him. He had been slightly overbearing the past twenty-four hours.

The digital clock in the corner of the living room read 5:30. Lucas let out a weary sigh—he had missed work the night before because he had been asleep—and reluctantly untangled himself from Peyton's hold. He didn't want to get up, but he knew that he had to get some hours in at the café before school if he wanted to make up for the time he had lost over the past couple of days that he had been in the hospital.

Peyton barely stirred as Lucas pushed himself off the couch and let out a low curse when he put too much weight on his injured leg. She mumbled something incoherent before rolling over and letting out a soft sigh. He smiled softly and brushed a strand of hair out of her face before limping around Nathan and Haley's sleeping forms to the living room door.

All the lights in the kitchen were turned on when Lucas hobbled into it. He was surprised—he was fairly certain that they had been off when he had come in here two hours ago to use the bathroom—and then nearly had a heart attack when he saw someone sitting on one of the chairs, reading the newspaper.

"Morning," Stephen said tiredly, setting down the newspaper.

Lucas stared at Stephen in shock, partly because he hadn't realized that Stephen was home, and partly because Stephen looked like absolute crap. He had dark circles underneath his eyes, his hair was unkempt, and his clothes were ruffled.

"You look like shit," Lucas commented trying to cover up how astonished he had been to find Stephen sitting in the kitchen, alone, reading the newspaper at 5:30 in the morning.

"Have you seen yourself lately?" Stephen retorted though there was no heat behind his words.

"You were out late," Lucas said as he shuffled over to the refrigerator and grabbed the carton of orange juice and the bag of bagels. "Want one?"

"Sure," Stephen replied. "Tyler was in a whiny mood and then Brooke got discharged from the hospital. I spent all night talking to her."

"How is she?" Lucas asked stiffening slightly at the sound of her name. He knew from what bits and pieces he managed to glean from Peyton's breakdown last night that Brooke blamed him for everything that had happened. She was right, Lucas reflected. If he hadn't been so goddamn tenacious to save everyone, then no one would have gotten hurt.

"Depressed," was Stephen's answer.

"How pissed is she with me?" Lucas wanted to know as he put the bagels in the toaster oven and poured two glasses of orange juice.

"She's not, really," Stephen said. Lucas looked at him in disbelief. "Well, she is," he amended. "But she's angrier with herself than with you. She just hasn't realized it yet. Don't worry though. She'll come around. Brooke always does."

"She has every right to be upset," Lucas said as he slid one of the glasses of orange juice across the counter to Stephen. "I shouldn't have dragged everyone into that mess. If I hadn't, then no one would have gotten hurt."

"Except for Nathan, who probably would have been killed by either those drug dealers or the building collapsing on his head," Stephen retorted. "You did the right thing, Lucas. Yeah, people got hurt, but it is _not_ your fault. You are the one responsible for everyone getting out of there alive."

Lucas was quiet, not certain as to what to say to that. He drank his orange juice and then retrieved the bagels from the toaster oven when they were done. He handed one to Stephen.

"Thanks," Stephen said yawning hugely. "After I eat this I'm going to bed. I'm exhausted."

"Okay," Lucas said with a shrug. The effort jostled his bruised ribs, making them throb in protest, but he ignored them. It was a pain he had become more than accustomed to over the past three years.

"Are you going to go to school?" Stephen asked after a few minutes' silence.

"I was planning on it after I get off work," Lucas said through a mouthful of bagel. He swallowed. "Why?"

"I was just wondering," Stephen said. "You're insane, you know that?"

"I have been told that a time or two. But how so this time?" Lucas asked stretching his sore leg gently out in front of him.

"You were out of school for two days because you saved your brother's life, you got seriously injured and yet, you're going to school and work like nothing happened. You know, most kids would want to take the day off," Stephen told him.

"I want to take the day off, but if I do, then you can say bye-bye to the apartment and I can say good-bye to school. I've already missed way too many days of school," Lucas shot back.

"I have a job," Stephen reminded him. "I can help pay the rent if you need me to. I live here, I should help out."

"If you want to help pay rent, that's fine. But I still have to get to work and I'm still going to go to school," Lucas said.

"Dude, you're way too stubborn for your own good. Would it kill you to stop and take care of yourself for once?"

"Yeah, it probably would," Lucas said as he drained the rest of his orange juice and stood up from the table. "Oh, by the way, thank you."

"For what?" Stephen asked looking confused.

"For coming with me when I wanted to save Nathan," Lucas said. "You didn't have to do that and it means a lot to me that you did that. So thanks."

"You're welcome," Stephen said with another huge yawn. "Does Nathan want his room back? I can always sleep on the couch."

"He can stay in my room. I don't care," Lucas said. "I slept on the couch the entire time Haley was living here, I can do it again. I like the couch."

"If you want," Stephen said. "I'm too tired to argue with you right now."

"Go to sleep," Lucas said with a slight laugh. "I'm going to work after I take a shower."

"See you later," Stephen said his eyes drooping.

Lucas smiled and headed to what used to be his bedroom. He grabbed a change of clothes and a towel and then headed to the shower.

* * *

Nathan woke to the sound of water running nearby. For a moment he thought he was back at Oak Ridge again, where there had been an old sewage river that ran by his apartment. Then the events of the past couple of days caught up to him and he realized that he was back at the apartment he had shared with Lucas for the past couple of days.

He stood up slowly not wanting to disturb Haley, who was still fast asleep on the floor next to him. Nathan saw Peyton sleeping on the couch and frowned. He was fairly certain that Lucas had been there last night and the fact that the older Scott wasn't meant that he was planning on going to work and to school today, which, in Nathan's opinion, was suicidal.

"He is seriously going to kill himself," Nathan muttered as he walked as quietly as he could around Haley so he could get to the door. His shoulder was killing him as a result from sleeping on the floor all night. He really wanted to take a hot shower, some Tylenol, and go sleep for the next four years.

Nathan wandered into the kitchen, expecting it to be empty since he heard the shower running in the bathroom. He started when he saw Lucas sitting at the kitchen table, playing with a glass of orange juice. He blinked and realized that it was not his brother, but Stephen.

"Oh, hi," Stephen said looking up from the glass. "Lucas's in the shower if you're looking for him."

"I kind of figured," Nathan said heading to the fridge to grab a glass of orange juice for himself. "So you live here now."

"Yeah," Stephen said with a yawn. "It's been nice. Lucas is a very easy person to live with."

"I guess," Nathan replied.

"Look, I know it's really awkward between us because of what happened at prom and with me and Peyton and everything," Stephen started.

"It's not your fault," Nathan interrupted. "I was… I wasn't myself at prom and I took it out on you. Honestly, you could have said something completely different and I probably would have reacted the same way. Don't worry about it."

"I'm still sorry," Stephen said. "I know it's probably partially my fault that you decided to take opium."

"Stephen, you seem like a nice guy," Nathan said getting annoyed that a complete stranger was trying to analyze his life and decisions. "But don't try to understand what I did, okay? You don't know half of went on during those few months, okay? So just butt out."

"I'm just trying to help, Nathan," Stephen said defensively. "I'm sorry if that's offended you."

Silence fell over them as Nathan poured a glass of orange juice. In the bathroom, the shower cut off. Stephen stood up then.

"I'm going to go to bed," he said yawning again. "If you want your room back, just say the word. I can always move onto the couch."

"I think Lucas would kill you if you moved into the living room," Nathan said. "That's like his Taj Mahal. He practically forced me to take his room."

"He cares a lot about you," Stephen said. "You should be thankful. And if there are no arguments about the bedroom, then I'm going to sleep. I'll see you later."

Before Nathan could say anything, Stephen disappeared down the hallway. A few moments later, the bathroom door opened and admitted Lucas with a billow of steam.

"Damn these stupid casts," he muttered as he limped into the kitchen. He stopped dead when he saw Nathan standing there.

"Good morning," Nathan said quietly. He still wasn't sure whether or not Lucas was angry with him. Sure, the elder Scott acted completely normal, like Nathan's drug addiction hadn't completely pissed him off, but Nathan could sense that Lucas was hiding his real emotions behind that friendly exterior, and it scared him.

"Morning," Lucas said brightly, recovering from his shock. "Not so sure about it being good, though. I swear everyone is trying to give me a heart attack this morning."

"That's not funny, Lucas," Nathan said remembering their conversation from the day before. His brother still had HCM. That just wasn't possible, not after the heart surgery that was supposed to take care of everything.

"It's a little funny," Lucas said amiably as he limped over to the island chair across from Nathan and picked up the newspaper. "What are you doing up so early this morning?"

"I could ask you the same thing. You're not going to work and school this morning are you?" Nathan asked.

"Actually, I am," Lucas said. "If you're really worried about it, you could always tag along."

Though Nathan knew that it was a blatantly obvious way of Lucas keeping an eye on him, he didn't care. After cutting himself off from everyone he cared about as of late, Nathan wanted to spend time with those that mattered to him. He couldn't bring himself to be mad at Lucas for wanting to keep an eye on him.

"Okay," Nathan said.

* * *

Stephen knocked on the door to the hotel room, hoping for a reply. He hadn't exactly been honest with Lucas earlier that day—Brooke had thrown him out of her hotel room at around midnight last night and he had spent the early part of the morning down at the river court, wondering how on earth everything had gotten so messed up. Now, he was back at Brooke's hotel room, trying to get her to talk to him.

"Go. Away!" she shouted through the closed door. "I don't want room service, I don't want to talk to you, and I sure as Hell don't want to see you! So whoever it is, please, just leave me alone!"

"Brooke," Stephen said quietly. "Let me in."

"NO!" Brooke yelled. "And if you don't go away, I swear to god Stephen Andrew Burns, I will call the cops on you! I don't care if you're my boyfriend! Leave me the Hell alone!"

"Brooke, please," Stephen pleaded.

There was no answer. He sighed heavily. _Just once I'd like something to go my way,_ he thought. _Just once. Is that too much to ask for?_

As if in reply, thunder rumbled in the distance. He sighed again.

"Guess it's going to be a long walk home," he muttered. "God, Tree Hill is crazy some days."

"You can say that again."

Stephen started. He hadn't been expecting anyone to answer his mindless musings. He looked up, slightly surprised to find Haley standing there with her arms crossed over her chest. He winced when he saw the white cast—he wished that there was something he could have done to help them out that day, to prevent any of them from being injured, Haley especially. She was his best friend's girlfriend and one of the nicest people Stephen had ever met.

"Hi, Haley," Stephen said brightening instantly. "What are you doing here?"

"Hoping to get back into the hotel I share with Brooke," she replied. "No luck in getting her to talk to you?"

"Nope," Stephen said morosely. "I thought you'd be at school."

He had heard Peyton leave for school earlier that morning right before he had drifted off to sleep. He had been surprised until he had remembered that Lucas had gone in even earlier that morning. He had thought that Haley had gone along with her to keep an eye on Nathan.

"I have the highest grades in the senior class," Haley said with a shrug. "I can afford a day off every now and then. Besides, between Lucas and Peyton, Nathan was baby-sat all day. It's my turn this evening."

"Sounds like a plan," Stephen said with a slight smile. "You want to go with me to see Tyler?"

He didn't know why he had said it, but it had seemed like the right thing to do. Haley shrugged.

"I was actually planning on going to the river court for a little while," she said.

"That seems to be the Scott clan hangout," Stephen commented.

"It has a lot of memories," Haley said.

She looked as though she were about to say something else, but Brooke chose that moment to open the hotel room door. Stephen started at the action—he was certain that she wouldn't have opened the door for anything.

"Brooke," Stephen said in surprise.

"You're going to the river court?" Brooke asked completely ignoring Stephen and looking at Haley.

"Yeah, I was planning on it," Haley said looking just as surprised as Stephen felt. "You want to come?"

"Yes," Brooke said instantly. "Let me grab my coat."

* * *

Lucas was beginning to wish that he had never gone to work that morning, for it made the school day that much worse. He was exhausted, his leg was killing him, he was behind in all of his classes because of all the time he had spent in the hospital, and people seemed to have taken a liking to trying to trip him in the hallways. The only redeeming quality about the day was getting to see Peyton in English class, but even that ended badly when he got detention for talking to her after they were both done with their test.

He was thankful when the final bell rang and he was free to go. He headed out toward the parking lot, taking great care not to trip over anyone's feet as he did so. His trip was made easier when both Nathan and Peyton joined him.

"Hey, Blondie," Lucas said smiling as he wrapped an arm around Peyton. "Hi, Nate."

"Hey, Luke," Nathan replied softly as he followed them to Stephen's car.

Lucas sighed internally at his brother's dejected actions. He knew that Nathan was probably feeling the effects of withdrawal and that he was feeling out of sorts at being back in school after so long, but he wished that he could just fast forward the next couple of months to when everything was going to be okay between them again. He missed having his brother around, the one who would play a pick up game at the river court or just make some witty comment about seeing Lucas and Peyton constantly together. He missed Nathan.

"I'm going to take my own car home," Peyton said as they reached Stephen's car. "I have some things I need to catch up on at my house and didn't really get a chance to do them yesterday."

"Okay," Lucas said amiably pulling her closer to him so he could give her a good-bye kiss.

"Talk to Nathan," she whispered as they broke apart. Louder, she added, "I'll see you later!"

With that, she walked away, her blonde curls bouncing in the wind. Lucas watched her go longingly, wishing that they didn't have to be apart.

With a heavy sigh he turned back to Nathan, who was staring at the ground with extreme interest. Lucas couldn't help but chuckle. Nathan looked up at him, bemusement evident on his face.

"What?" he asked shifting his weight from foot to foot.

"Nothing," Lucas replied with a shake of his head. "You want to go to the river court?"

"How am I supposed to play with a shoulder like this?" Nathan wanted to know.

"Who said anything about playing?" Lucas shot back. "All I asked is if you wanted to go."

Nathan hesitated for a moment then shrugged. "Sure," he said. "I've got nothing else to do."

"That's the spirit," Lucas said.


	29. Chapter 27

**Disclaimer: I do not own _One Tree Hill_ or any of its characters.**

**Author's Note: Sorry for taking so long to update... I was going to try to make this longer, but decided that the end of this chapter was much more appropriate than if I dragged it on for another four or five pages. So, you get a slightly shorter chapter, but hopefully you all like it! **

**Author's Note 2: This chapter is weird, random, and a tad rushed. Just thought I'd give you guys a heads up.**

**Author's Note 3: For those of you that are reading _How To Save A Life_ it has been put on an indefinite hiatus for the time being. I'll let you know when the next chapter will be ready.**

**Read and review please! After all, reviews make the world go round!**

**Broken Hearts and Healing Minds**

**Chapter 27**

Nathan realized at that moment that there would be things that he would never know about his brother. As they sat across from each other on the river court and Lucas told him that there were still days that he thought about just giving everything up and taking the drugs again, Nathan grasped the fact that Lucas kept more secrets than anyone ever gave him credit for.

The brothers had been at the river court for about half an hour now, talking about things that had happened over the past few months that Nathan had been absent, starting with the lightest things such as Lucas reapplying to UNC and getting in to the heavier things such as Lucas's heart condition returning. It was strange, to Nathan, to just sit around and talk—especially when the person who was doing most of the talking was Lucas, the guy who barely spoke to anyone ever. But apparently that had changed when Nathan had left. Everything had changed when he had left.

Nathan wasn't sure how the topic went from Lucas's heart condition to Nathan's drug addiction, but he suddenly found himself spilling everything to his brother—what he was afraid of, why he stared taking drugs in the first place, and why he couldn't stop. And Lucas had just sat there and accepted everything without judging Nathan for what he had done before dropping the huge bomb that there were still days that he nearly fell off the metaphorical wagon and took the pills that had ruined his life so long ago.

"No one knows," Lucas said staring off into the distance. "Not even Peyton. Especially not her."

Nathan wasn't sure what to say, if there was anything to say. He had always known that Lucas had his secrets, but he never would have guessed that they were anything this huge.

"Why are you telling me this?" he finally managed to ask.

Lucas shrugged, flinching slightly as he did so. Obviously moving too much was painful for him as much as it was for Nathan.

"I thought you'd like to know what you're facing," Lucas said. "It's going to be hard and you're never going to be able to fully get rid of that want… that _need_ for the drugs that you have right now. But it's definitely worth the struggle. Because in three years, you'll be able to look back on what happened to you and even though you'll still want the opium or whatever it is you took, you'll know that nothing is as bad as you think it is, that there is still something worse out there than your girlfriend saying no to your proposal or your brother having a heart condition. The drug, the fact that you're a slave to it and nothing else matters except getting _more_… that's worse than anything. Because you're no longer free, no matter what you might think otherwise."

"I don't want to go back to that," Nathan said shivering slightly as he thought back to only the week before when he was so out of it that he couldn't even see straight.

"You don't have to," Lucas said firmly. "I'm not going to let you."

"The reason why I started taking those drugs was because I needed a way to deal with my problems," Nathan said. "Obviously that only caused more problems than it was worth, but at the time I felt like it was my only option, that you were too busy with Peyton and everything else to have time for me. And seeing Haley with Tyler and knowing that I drove her to that… I just couldn't stop myself."

"You could have just said something, Nate," Lucas said quietly. "I would have dropped everything to help you. You know that."

"I do now," Nathan said just as quietly. "Back then I was the one that everyone turned to for help. I was the one everyone depended on. I thought I didn't have anyone to do the same."

Lucas had a blank mask on his face, the one he had when he was trying to cover up if he was hurt, angry, or scared. Nathan guessed it was probably all three in this case.

"I'm sorry, Nathan," he murmured. "I'm sorry for not realizing sooner that you needed help."

"It's not your fault, Luke," Nathan said. "You didn't force me into doing any of that."

Lucas was quiet, staring at something that Nathan could not see. He sighed.

"You know I still have nightmares about that day with Ryan," he said randomly.

Nathan looked at him an eyebrow raised in confusion.

"What?"

"That day with Ryan… the one where you proposed to Haley, got shot, I nearly drowned in the river… I still have nightmares about it."

"Why are you telling me this?" Nathan wanted to know.

"Because in my nightmare, every single time you propose to Haley, she says yes," Lucas replied. "She still loves you, Nathan. She never stopped. Just because she's with Tyler at the moment doesn't mean that she has."

"She told me that," Nathan admitted.

Lucas's eyes grew wide and a smile spread across his face for a brief moment.

"When?" he asked.

"The day I was released from the hospital," Nathan said. "And I'm not mad at her anymore. I just—I can't be with her. Not when I'm like this. And I told her as much and she said that she understood."

Lucas nodded in understanding. He looked as though he was about to say something, but suddenly, his face grew grim and his jaw set in anxiety.

"What is it?" Nathan questioned.

His question answered itself when Brooke marched over to Lucas and slapped him hard, so hard in fact that Lucas's head snapped to the side.

"BROOKE!" Nathan shouted getting to his feet and staring at his friend in shock.

"It's okay, Nathan," Lucas said quietly as he too got to his feet. "That the best you got, Brooke, or do you want to do it again?"

"I can't believe that you have the balls to stand there and be sarcastic about this!" Brooke shouted.

"What do you want me to do, Brooke? Apologize? I've tried that already. You slammed the door in my face, remember?"

Nathan had to admire Brooke's courage for not backing down from Lucas's quiet angered voice. Any lesser person, Nathan included, would have been terrified.

"I want you to stop acting like everything's okay when it's not! I want you to own up to everything you've done!" Brooke screamed. "Instead, you're just sitting around laughing and joking like you could care less about what happened to me!"

Nathan had always thought _he_ had had self-centered issues. He didn't realize just how wrong he was.

"Brooke!"

Nathan started at the sound of Haley's voice and turned to find Haley and Stephen walking down the hill to the river court. Trailing a little ways behind them was a pale-faced Tyler.

"Stay out of it, Hales," Lucas said softly. "This doesn't concern you."

"You took away everything, Lucas Scott! You took away my boyfriend, you took away my baby, you took away my cousin… everything and everyone I loved, you stole from me!" Brooke shouted.

"I never meant for anyone to get hurt, Brooke," Lucas said quietly. "You weren't supposed to be there but you barged in anyway!"

Lucas received another slap across the face. Nathan wondered what the hell was going on and why the heck Lucas was just standing there taking what Brooke dished out.

"You have no right to say that! You were the one that dragged Stephen into that! You were the one that got Ryan killed!" Brooke screamed.

"Brooke!" Haley tried again.

"Shut up, Haley!" Brooke shouted. "I don't want to hear about how Ryan was a bad guy. You didn't know him the way I did. It was because of this _bastard_ here that he turned out horrible!"

* * *

There was yelling and lots of it. Lucas barely heard a word anyone said through the thick fog that now engulfed his mind. He was distantly aware of Brooke shouting at him and someone shouting at Brooke, but he didn't really get what anyone was saying. He was shocked by what had Brooke said. He knew she blamed him for a lot of things, but he had never expected her to hate him so much for killing Ryan. He had thought that she was on his side about that, that she had stopped loving the psychopath the moment he had tried to kill Lucas and damn near succeeded twice.

"If you think that I'm going to apologize for Ryan drowning in that damn river," Lucas said quietly, yet no one could mistake the malice in his voice. "Then you're sorely mistaken. Now I'm sorry that you had a miscarriage and I'm sorry that Stephen got hurt and I'm sorry that you're upset, but you have no right to blame me for what Ryan did to me and Nathan and what he tried to do to Peyton. That was all him. It is _not_ my fault that you're so thick you can't tell a murderer from a decent person."

"I must be thick if I ever thought you were a nice guy," Brooke spat back.

"Take as many swings at me as you want," Lucas said. "But it won't change the fact that what happened, happened. I don't regret anything that I've done but I do regret that what I've done has hurt people. And I'm sorry that you were one of them."

"Tell that to someone who gives a damn," Brooke snarled. "I hate you, Lucas Scott, for everything that you've caused."

"Then why are you still here?" Lucas asked wearily. He was suddenly very, very tired and wanted nothing more than to curl up with Peyton and sleep for the next month.

"Because I want you to suffer the way I've suffered," Brooke shot back. "You don't seem to grasp what it's like for everything you ever loved to be hurt or killed."

"Brooke, I understand better than you think I do," Lucas said his voice turning hard. "You seem to keep forgetting that I lost my mother, I damn near lost Peyton and Nathan, and I lost the person who I used to be. I've nearly lost everyone I ever loved and I have lost people I love. You're hurting and I get that, but you have no right to tell me that I have never lost anyone I care about."

He saw the tears burning in her hazel eyes as his words worked through that thick barrier of anger she had put up.

"Brooke," Stephen said more quietly. Brooke ignored him.

"Ryan was my _brother,_ Brooke," Lucas continued. "And I was forced to drag his dead body out of that river and try to save his life. Dan was my father and I lost him to alcohol and misery. I lost my uncle to cowardliness."

Tears were streaming down her face now and Lucas realized that he had probably gone too far in driving his point home. But there was nothing he could do to take it back now.

"I'm sorry," Brooke whispered through her tears. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay, Brooke," Lucas murmured as he wrapped his arms around her shoulders. "It's okay. You're hurting and looking for someone to blame. I just happened to be there for everything. I know."

"It's going to be okay, Brooke," Stephen said quietly as he placed a hand on her heaving shoulders. "We're going to get you through this."

"You're not alone, Brooke," Haley said from behind Stephen. "You have people here for you who care."


	30. Chapter 28

**Disclaimer: I do not own _One Tree Hill_ or any of its characters.**

**Author's Note: Sorry for taking so long to update... I was going to update sooner, but I just didn't have the time to write. Hope you enjoy the chapter though!**

**Author's Note 2: This chapter is kind of all over the place, but I hope you guys will like it. If you get confused, let me know!**

**Read and review please! After all, reviews make the world go round!**

**Broken Hearts and Healing Minds**

**Chapter 28**

It was close to two-thirty in the morning. Lucas knew he was the only one awake in the now crowded apartment. Brooke and Stephen were in Nathan's old room, Nathan and Haley in Lucas's, and Peyton and Lucas in the living room. Brooke and Haley had moved into the apartment after the events at the river court. Peyton was once again spending the night since her father was still in Florida. Lucas didn't mind that Peyton was there—it was comforting having her close to him, but having everyone else there was getting on his nerves. It was impossible to go anywhere in the apartment, even the bathroom, without someone barging in and interrupting your privacy, unless of course, you were awake at two-thirty in the morning. Which, for some oddball reason, Lucas was and now he couldn't go back to sleep.

Lucas slid off the couch, careful not to disturb Peyton and headed into the kitchen. He felt a pang of loneliness as he entered the kitchen and there was no one there. He remembered back before all the events with Ryan and back before Nathan had started abusing drugs when he and Nathan would go off to the river court at random hours of the night and play to their heart's content.

With a heavy sigh, Lucas grabbed his sweatshirt from where he had left it on the island earlier that evening and headed toward the door. Just because Nathan wasn't awake didn't mean that Lucas couldn't go to the river court. Or somewhere else if he so desired.

A bright piece of paper caught Lucas's eye on the way out the door. Written in fancy type was an invitation to a huge party that was to take place in a couple of days. Stephen and Tyler had invited Lucas, Nathan, Haley, Brooke, and Peyton to all go. Lucas didn't really want to go, but Peyton was excited and Nathan was eager to prove to the world that he was Nathan Scott still and that the recent bout of drugs did nothing to change the party animal that he was. So, Lucas had agreed to go, even though he couldn't quite shake the feeling that something bad was going to happen to them if they did go.

_It's just paranoia,_ Lucas told himself as he pulled on his sweatshirt and walked out the door. _You're just harping on what's happened over the past few months. Nothing is going to happen._

With a light sigh, Lucas headed down the apartment stairs and into the chilly night.

He wasn't sure where he ended up, but it certainly wasn't the river court. There were no gentle sounds of rushing water or chirping crickets as Lucas approached the ten foot tall chain-link fence that completely surrounded a plot of land. He recognized the name that was engraved in the gate—_Tree Hill Memorial Cemetery_—and was both horrified and slightly relieved that he had come to the place where Karen Roe was buried. After everything that had happened to him and to his family over the past few months, Lucas really wanted to talk to his mother, though he wasn't sure if three o'clock in the morning dressed in all black was the way to do it. Chances were that someone would see him and call the cops.

Throwing caution to the wind, Lucas quickly climbed the chain link fence. There was no one out here at three o'clock in the morning except for him. He glanced around as he reached the top, making sure no one was watching, and landed softly in a pile of grass on the other side of the fence.

Or what should have been softly and quietly if he hadn't had a busted knee that didn't agree with his nightly wanderings. Swearing rather loudly, Lucas pulled himself to his feet, using the chain-link fence as a crutch. He waited for a moment for the sharp agony to die down to a dull ferocious ache before he limped over to the site where his mother was buried.

The small, nondescript headstone was wreathed in a bouquet of flowers, showing that Lucas and others had been there recently. Dan was the most likely culprit—he had even mentioned some of these visits to Lucas on the occasions that they had spoken to each other—though Lucas highly doubted that he was the one to lay the heart wreath on the corner. It was probably Peyton or Haley who had done that—both were also frequent visitors to the cemetery.

"Hey, mom," Lucas said softly, glancing around nervously to see if his cursing and climbing had drawn any attention from nosy people. Everything was silent; Lucas relaxed slightly. "I'm sorry that it has been a couple of weeks since my last visit. I've—it's been hectic. But Nathan's home now and he wants to get better."

"I see you haven't changed much in three years. Still wandering around town in the middle of the night, not caring who catches you."

Lucas wasn't expecting the rough voice that sounded behind him. He spun around, nearly tripping as his knee threatened to give out. He had to see if it was true, if Keith was really standing right there behind him.

"Though I have to say," Keith said with a smirk. "The graveyard wasn't always your usual haunt."

"Keith," he said in astonishment. "What are you doing here?"

"How about we go get a cup of coffee and talk about it?" Keith suggested.

Lucas gaped at his uncle for a few moments, not quite ready to believe that this wasn't some dream of his. He had had some pretty vivid ones in the past.

"There isn't going to be anywhere open at this time of night—err, morning," Lucas said after a few moments of awkward silence.

"Lucas, all I want to do is talk to you," Keith said. "I'm not here to hurt you or change your life. I just want to talk."

Lucas hesitated—every time someone told him that or he told someone else that, he ended up in the hospital. He didn't want to end up in the hospital so soon after he had gotten out of it again. But then again, it had been three _years_ since he had actually talked to his uncle in person; ever since that night when Ryan had tried to kill him and almost succeeded.

"All right," Lucas said. "We can go to—."

"Hello, Lucas. Keith, my, my this is a surprise."

Dan Scott stood behind Keith, a feral grin on his face that was made twice as creepy by the moonlight.

Peyton woke with a start, breathing heavily. She looked around, trying to remember where she was. A soft snore coming from somewhere outside the room she was in reminded Peyton that she was over at Lucas's apartment. She vaguely remembered falling asleep next to him on the couch she was now sprawled across, very much alone, on.

"Peyton?"

Peyton jumped at the sound of her voice, even in the soft, slightly husky tones that Lucas generally spoke in. She blinked as he turned on the light.

"Where've you been?" she asked quietly sitting up.

"I was in the bathroom," Lucas said looking confused. The confusion turned to worry. "Is everything okay?"

"Not really," Peyton admitted realizing at that moment that he was dressed in a pair of sweatpants and nothing else. His blue eyes were thick with sleep and he had tousled hair that made him look years younger. He was beyond cute.

"What's wrong?" Lucas asked quirking an eyebrow as he walked over and sat down beside her.

"I—I had this really weird dream," she said shivering slightly. She didn't realize she was cold until Lucas wrapped an arm around her and pulled her closer to him.

"What was it about?" he asked softly.

"I don't want to talk about it," she said shuddering again.

"Are you sure?" Lucas questioned.

"Yeah," Peyton murmured. "Just go back to sleep. I'll be okay. Really."

She offered him a slight smile. He didn't look convinced, but obediently lay down beside her again. Within a few seconds, Peyton heard his gentle snores that signaled he was asleep. She smiled, letting the sound lull her back into a dreamless sleep.

Nathan shoveled the cereal into his mouth with great gusto, ignoring the amused looks of Lucas who was also sitting at the kitchen table, playing with a glass of orange juice. Nathan barely stopped to breathe until he had finished the entire bowl.

"You know, the cereal will still be there if you stop to breathe for a second or two," Lucas said teasingly as Nathan got up to put the bowl in the sink. "I'm not going to steal it away from you."

"Yeah, yeah, shut up," Nathan said rolling his eyes and getting himself a glass of water. "What's so important that you had to wake me up at seven-thirty in the morning on a _Saturday_ to talk about?"

Lucas cast a swift glance around the kitchen and surrounding rooms to make sure no one else was there. They weren't—they were all still asleep, which Nathan would have liked to be doing at the moment. But then again, this was Lucas, and Nathan considered himself damn lucky not to have been up at three o'clock in the morning.

"Um, let's go to the river court," Lucas suggested. "I could use a game of horse."

"Hello? Injured here," Nathan said pointing to his shoulder, which was actually doing a lot better than it had been. He didn't want to overdo it, though.

"You can shoot better one handed than I can," Lucas said rolling his eyes. "You'll survive. Let's go."

"Why don't you want anyone else to over hear?" Nathan questioned as he grabbed his sweatshirt and followed Lucas out the door. "You know they're just going to find out anyway."

"Yeah, I know," Lucas said. "But I thought you'd like to be the first to know."

There was something about the way that Lucas said that that made Nathan uneasy, like Lucas suspected Nathan was hiding something but didn't want to actually make accusations. Nathan didn't know what he had done this time—he was fairly certain there wasn't anything—but with Lucas, one could never be too certain.

"Is this going to get me killed one day?" Nathan asked only half-joking.

Lucas's face remained calm and blank, which was also scary as hell.

"Maybe," he said. Then he smirked, which made Nathan breathe a mental sigh of relief. "No."

There was something off about Lucas's face that Nathan tried to pinpoint as they walked toward the river court. It was going to be a nice day. The sky above was a light shade of blue and there were no signs of clouds.

By the time the Scott brothers had reached the river court, Nathan was no closer in finding out what was bothering Lucas, but he did make some success in finding out what was happening in the apartment. He hadn't been really paying attention; he had had other things on his mind, but apparently Brooke, Stephen, and Haley were moving into the apartment next door to Lucas and Nathan's and Peyton was going to be moving in with Lucas.

"That's going to be fun," Nathan commented as Lucas picked up the basketball they left underneath the picnic tables.

"Yep," Lucas said in his usual offhand voice. "Tyler's moving to Chapel Hill in a few weeks."

"What?" Nathan asked shocked. He didn't really _like_ Tyler, but then again, Nathan really didn't like a lot of people. "Why?"

"Because of me," Lucas said throwing the basketball to Nathan, who caught it easily with his good hand. "And because of you. Kind of."

"What?" Nathan demanded growing angry.

"It's not Tyler's fault," Lucas said quickly. "It's his mother's. She didn't like what happened to him on the account of and I quote 'stupid, reckless rescue missions'. Or at least, that's what Tyler said."

"How did Haley take the news?" Nathan asked.

"She doesn't know yet," Lucas said. "Tyler told me and Stephen last night while you two were out of the house with Brooke and Peyton."

"Oh," Nathan said dumbly. "Does he want to move?"

"No, not really. It's two months until the end of his senior year. Would you want to move?" Lucas asked. It was a rhetorical question. "I think we should throw a going away party for him."

"You've known the guy, what, two weeks and you want to throw a party for him?" Nathan asked incredulously.

"Actually, I've known him for longer than that," Lucas corrected. "And I think it would be a good idea. He's been a good friend lately and I think a lot of people here are going to miss him."

"Okay," Nathan said holding up his hands to catch the ball. "When do you want to have it?"

"You think it's a good idea?" Lucas asked.

"I don't really care for the guy, so it doesn't really matter to me," Nathan said bluntly. "But I think Haley would like it and Tyler probably would too."

"Okay then," Lucas said shrugging once. "Weekend after next. Provided the weather's good, we hold it here. Peyton has already offered to be the DJ."

"You already told Peyton about that?" Nathan asked sinking a perfect shot from the foul line.

"Yeah, I did. It was her idea to have the party," Lucas explained mirroring the shot with practiced ease. "That was before I went to the cemetery last night."

"You went to the cemetery last night?" Nathan repeated dumbly.

"Yeah," Lucas said a dark look entering his eyes. "Guess who was there?"

"Dead people?" Nathan guessed hating how stupid he sounded. Lucas shot him an annoyed glare. "Sorry. Who was there?"

"Keith," Lucas said. "And Dan. And yes, _dead people_."

Nathan stared at Lucas in open shock. The fact that Lucas was in the presence of both the older Scott brothers and in one piece was definite cause for surprise.

"What did they want?" he asked.

Lucas shook his head.

"Nothing important," he said.

The look that he was mad at some unknown reason was back. Nathan had seen it enough in the past to know it.

"What's up?" Nathan asked.

"Keith wanted to know how you were doing about the drug issue," Lucas said. His voice was neutral, but the look in his eyes was enough to make Antarctica seem like a tropical paradise.

_Shit,_ Nathan thought.

Stephen glanced up when he heard the door to the living room open and close. He was surprised when Peyton walked into the kitchen, fully dressed and alert. He glanced at the clock on the microwave, which read 7:50. He looked back at her arching an eyebrow questioningly when she looked at him.

"I couldn't sleep," she explained grabbing a cup from the cabinet and pouring herself a cup of the coffee Stephen had made.

"Want to talk about it?"

"I didn't tell Lucas about it," Peyton said in way of an answer. "Why should I tell you?"

"Because as much as Lucas looks like me, I am not Lucas," Stephen said. "And I know you well enough to know when something's bothering you."

"Is Nathan home?" Peyton asked avoiding the unspoken question in Stephen's voice.

"He left earlier this morning with Lucas," Stephen said. "And before you ask, Brooke and Haley are still asleep. What's so upsetting that you can't talk to Lucas about it?"

"I had this nightmare last night," Peyton said taking a huge swig of coffee. "Mm. This is good. Are you sure you don't want to stay here?"

"I'm moving one door down," Stephen said rolling his eyes. "I'll still make coffee in the mornings. Get on with the story."

"You're way too blunt for your own good, you know that?" Peyton inquired.

"You're great at beating around the bush," Stephen retorted and then folded his hands across the table. "What was the nightmare about, Peyton?"

"I—It's stupid," Peyton muttered. "And you're going to think I'm really childish when I tell you about this."

Stephen waited. And sighed heavily when it was clear that Peyton wasn't going to continue without his pulling it out of her.

"I won't think you're childish," he said softly. "Whatever it is, you seem to be terrified. I won't laugh, I promise."

"It's just that—you know about what happened with Ryan, right?" Stephen nodded. "I'm not sure what all Lucas told you, but I'm pretty certain he didn't tell you about what happened after he got thrown through the window. It would be pretty hard for him, seeing as he was almost dead at the time."

She was rambling, but Stephen didn't say anything, knowing that if he interrupted her, she would stop talking. It was just what Peyton did when she was scared or nervous, and in this case, she was both.

"It was a stormy night," she said her voice dropping to a whisper. "There was a fire in the bar. Henry's was the name of the bar. They never reopened it. I was with Nathan—we were looking for Lucas. Nathan went into the bar, I went to the alleyway. Haley joined up with me then. We saw Lucas and he was pretty much dead."

Stephen didn't want to hear anymore, but since he had asked, he would keep his mouth shut and not say anything.

"He lived, obviously," Peyton said. "But every so often I have a nightmare where he doesn't. And every time, I wake up and he's not there, I always think it happened the way it did in my nightmare."

"You had that nightmare last night," Stephen said quietly reaching forward and taking her hand.

"Yeah," Peyton said her voice a whisper. "And it was horrible, Stephen. I saw him get pushed through that window, I saw him hit that pavement… and he never woke up."

Tears were sliding down her face at that point. Stephen wished that there was something he could do for her, but he knew from his time with her that the only person who ever really got through to her was Lucas.

"You should talk to Lucas about this," Stephen said softly.

Peyton shook her head wiping frantically at her tears.

"I can't," she said. "He has so much else to deal with that he doesn't need to know about my stupid nightmares. They're not real."

"Peyton," Stephen began.

"Thanks for listening to me," Peyton said her voice harder and more formal now. "I should really go back to my house and tell my dad that I'm moving in here."

"Do you want me to go with you?" Stephen asked. He needed the excuse to go see his mother.

"No," Peyton said. "I'll be fine. Stay here with Brooke. She needs you right now."

"Peyton," Stephen started again.

But Peyton was gone. She disappeared out the apartment door, leaving Stephen by himself in the middle of the kitchen.


	31. Chapter 29

**Disclaimer: I do not own _One Tree Hill _or any of its characters.**

**Author's Note: November, in my opinion, is officially over and with it, the insane writing contest known as NaNoWriMo. With it comes a very brief, yet very important update to _Broken Hearts and Healing Minds_!!! FanFic readers rejoice!!! Whoo hoo!! **

**Author's Note 2: There will be another update to this story soon, followed by yet another author's note (groan), and then ten more chapters and hopefully that will wrap up the story. If it doesn't... then, well... it doesn't. **

**Author's Note 3: I'd like to thank everyone who has reviewed and read this story so far. I hope my lack of updates recently hasn't completely turned you off of this story and that you will continue to be such fabulous readers and reviewers. **

**Without further ado, the next chapter of _Broken Hearts and Healing Minds_...**

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Broken Hearts and Healing Minds

**Chapter 29**

All Lucas could do was watch Nathan flounder around for an explanation as to why Keith knew about his drug addiction before Lucas had. Lucas had a fairly good idea as to what had happened, but he wanted to hear it from his brother first before he started pointing fingers and punching people.

"I told Keith that you knew about the… problem from the beginning and that you were trying to get me to go to rehab," Nathan mumbled after a long while. "He bought it."

"I don't care how Keith knew," Lucas said unable to keep the venom fully out of his voice. He felt guilty when Nathan flinched. "I just want to know why Keith knew before I did."

He honestly didn't care that Keith knew or how Keith knew. He was Nathan's uncle, same as Lucas's, and he had a right to know what happened in his nephews' lives. But it was hard to know that Nathan had trusted Keith more than he had trusted Lucas.

"I went to Virginia because I needed someone to talk to," Nathan said looking anxious. "I needed someone who wouldn't judge what I had done based on what had happened with Haley and Ryan. I—What I did had nothing to do with that. Everything just got to be too much."

"I know that, Nate," Lucas said softly. And he did. "And I wouldn't have judged you for any of it."

"You say that _now_," Nathan said. "But if I had told you what I had done, you would have blown a gasket."

"Oh and telling me the way you did was definitely the best way," Lucas said sarcastically. He crossed his arms over his chest.

"Luke," Nathan began.

"I just wish you could have been able to tell me," Lucas said letting a bit of the helplessness he was feeling seep into his voice. "I know that it was probably my fault in the first place, but—."

"It wasn't your fault," Nathan interrupted angrily. "Don't believe that, okay? What I did, the choices I made, they were my doing. I didn't tell you because at the time, I didn't want help and I knew that Keith wouldn't have been able to help me, even if he had tried. I'm sorry."

Lucas shook his head, indicating that Nathan didn't have to apologize. He took the basketball from his brother, sank a perfect three pointer and sighed.

"Are you still planning to go to Duke?" he asked.

He felt more than saw Nathan's look of surprise at the change in subject. Lucas didn't care, though. He merely waited for an answer by sinking yet another three-pointer.

"I wanted to, but they rescinded my scholarship," Nathan said after a moment's pause. "They don't want druggies in their basketball program."

"Then we'll just have to show them that you are not a drug addict anymore," Lucas said.

"How?" Nathan wanted to know.

"I have a plan," Lucas said with a feral grin as he went to mid-court.

"There's no chance in hell you're going to make that," Nathan informed him. "And is this plan of yours legal?"

Lucas grinned wider, closed his eyes, and shot the basket. It went in, nothing but net.

"Meet me here at six o'clock tonight," he told Nathan, who was standing there staring at the basketball as it hit the ground in surprise. "Don't be late."

* * *

Lucas slammed the door to his locker and winced. It was only fourth period and already his head was starting to pound and he felt like absolute crap. He highly doubted he was going to make it through eighth period. He wondered absently what the hell was going on with him and prayed that he wasn't getting the flu. Lucas couldn't afford to take anymore time off of work.

A gentle hand on his shoulder made him turn. Beautiful, concerned emerald eyes met his own as Peyton raised in eyebrow in worry.

"I'm fine," he replied to her unspoken question. "Just a headache."

"You've had a headache now for the past three days," Peyton pointed out. "You're not sick, are you?"

She put a soft, cool hand to his forehead and he leaned into her touch. Lucas had missed her touch over the past few days. Even though they lived in the same apartment and shared the same couch, he felt that he never saw her anymore.

"I'm fine," he said with a little more conviction in his voice. "I was up late last night."

"I noticed," Peyton commented dryly as she moved her hand from his forehead to take his hand. "Anything you want to talk about? And don't give that whole 'I was in the bathroom' crap again. I know you were out last night."

"I visited my mother last night," Lucas told her as they started walking toward their next class.

"Oh," Peyton said her eyes widening in surprise. "I wouldn't have minded going with you."

"I know," Lucas said. "And it wasn't planned, or otherwise I would have asked you to come. I just—I needed to clear my head last night and I wound up there."

She placed her other hand on his shoulder and leaned her head against him. He kissed the top of her head.

"Why didn't you just tell me this last night?" she wanted to know.

"You looked exhausted," Lucas said. "But that's not all of it."

"What is it?" she pressed.

"I saw Keith and Dan last night," he informed her. "Both of them. And before you tell me I need to leave town before I wind up in the hospital, don't. They have changed. Well, at least Dan has."

"Luke, I think it's great that you and Dan are getting along as well as you have been lately, but Keith and Dan are never a good mix," Peyton said as they walked into their English classroom. "There hasn't been an instance yet where you didn't wind up in the hospital when both of them are in the same town."

"Things change," Lucas reminded her. "Anyway, Keith told me some things."

"What sort of things?" Peyton inquired.

"Apparently he knew about Nathan's drug addiction and didn't have the decency to pick up the phone and tell me about it," Lucas said bitterly.

"Have you talked to Nathan about this?" Peyton asked softly as they took their seats in the back of the class. There had been a time where people would have turned to stare at them, but that was long over. They went completely unnoticed; save for a couple of whispers about what happened at the apartment complex that followed Lucas everywhere he went.

"I did this morning," Lucas whispered as their teacher walked in. "And I'm not mad at him."

"You shouldn't be mad at yourself, either," Peyton whispered back.

Lucas smiled slightly. She knew him too well.

"I'm not," he said honestly. "But I am mad at Keith."

"That's the story of your life, though, isn't it?" Peyton asked bluntly. "Something goes wrong in your family, Keith hides it from you, and then you get all pissed at Keith. Some sort of accident is going to occur and then you're going to end up in the hospital and then Nathan is going to go insane and then Keith is going to leave and then he's going to come back and the entire cycle is going to start all over again."

"Nathan goes insane?" Lucas inquired raising an eyebrow.

"You haven't seen overprotective until you've seen Nathan when he's worried about you," Peyton told him. "He's scary."

A dark look flashed across her face so quickly that Lucas thought he might have imagined it. But when she looked away from him and started doodling in her notebook, he knew something was wrong. Unfortunately, the teacher decided at that moment to start class and call on Lucas to answer the question about the essays they had just turned in.

He sighed heavily and rubbed his throbbing temples. It was going to be a long afternoon.

* * *

Nathan arrived at the river court at ten till six, figuring Lucas would already be there because he hadn't been at the apartment since school was over. Peyton had been there, though she had had no clue as to where Lucas was. That usually meant that Lucas was either at the cemetery or at the river court. He wasn't at the former; Nathan had already checked.

The river court was startlingly empty as Nathan walked across the ancient, cracked blacktop and stopped in the middle. There was no one there. No Lucas, no strangers, no one. It was scary how quiet it could get.

The basketball was in its usual position underneath the picnic table. As Nathan retrieved it, he wondered if anyone but he and Lucas used the river court. It seemed like a waste to have such a beautiful basketball court be empty all the time. But, Nathan reflected, he doubted that he would have come here if there were other people who knew about it.

He took a couple of free throws from the line, trying to get a feel for how his shoulder was. It was a little weak after not having been used for a while, but there was no pain. Nathan took appreciation in this and started to test his limits.

He was in the middle of a half court game against invisible opponents when it hit him. He had been at the river court for over an hour and still, Lucas had not shown. Lucas was always on time. Something was wrong.

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**I apologize once again for the shortness of this chapter. I wanted you guys to have something to read before I get too involved with all the little details. Stay tuned, though!!**


	32. Chapter 30

**Disclaimer: I do not own _One Tree Hill_ or any of its characters.**

**Author's Note: I want to warn you: This chapter is kind of choppy, but it is a decent one. I like it. For the most part, anyway. **

**Author's Note 2: _One Tree Hill's _most recent episode was amazing!! I suggest that if you haven't watched it yet, you hurry over to CW's website to watch it now. It was so good! But, it could have been better if it had had Leyton in it. Oh well. Since the episode didn't, you get an overload of Leyton fluff in this chapter. **

**Author's Note 3: There will be an author's note for the next chapter, but the 31st chapter should be up sometime next week. **

**Broken Hearts and Healing Minds**

**Chapter 30**

Lucas barely managed to pull himself off the bathroom floor, he was so dizzy. His head was pounding so hard that he could barely see straight. His stomach recoiled once again and he found himself bent over the toilet once more.

"God, I hate being sick," he moaned as he managed to stand up using the sink for support.

"Luke? You okay in there?"

Lucas started at the sound of Jeannette Anderson's voice. Jeannette was an elderly woman who helped out at the café from time to time.

"I'm fine," he called back hoarsely, wincing at how bad his voice sounded.

"You sure honey?" Jeannette asked. "You've been in there for over an hour."

Lucas glanced in the mirror, not at all surprised to find his face sweaty and pale. He knew he wasn't okay, but he wasn't going to tell Jeannette that either. With his luck, she'd call the apartment and get a hold of Nathan…

_Nathan,_ Lucas thought cursing silently when he glanced at his watch and saw that it was close to seven-thirty. _Damn it, he's going to kill me._

"I'll be fine, Jeannette," he said.

"Okay," the elderly woman said slowly. "Your shift's over, by the way. A pretty blonde girl came looking for you a little while ago. I told her you were in the bathroom and she said she'd wait."

_Shit,_ Lucas thought. There was no way he was going to be able to hide being this sick from Peyton. She knew him way too well. If it had been anyone else, he might have stood a chance.

Sighing, and resigning himself to the major freak out he knew for a fact that he was going to get, he unlocked the bathroom door and stepped out into the nearly empty café.

Like Jeannette had said, Peyton was waiting for him. She was sitting at the counter, nursing a cup of coffee. Her back was to him, so Lucas had a little time to compose himself before she took notice of him.

"This seat taken, ma'am?" he asked in a southern drawl as he sat down next to her.

Peyton jumped before turning around and smiling. Her green eyes narrowed ever so slightly at the sight of him, but she didn't say anything. Yet.

"I was beginning to think that you had drowned in there or something," she said. "You okay?"

"I'm fine," Lucas said. And at the moment, he was.

"Yeah," Peyton snorted. "And I'm going to win the brunette of the year award."

"It's just a cold," Lucas said with a shrug. "I'll be fine in a couple of days."

"Yeah, if you _rest_," Peyton retorted. "And I know you—you aren't going to rest until I beat you down and hog tie you to the bed."

"Is that a threat or a promise?" Lucas asked raising an eyebrow suggestively.

"Just take care of yourself, okay?" Peyton said rolling her eyes and kissing him chastely on the lips. "For me?"

He sighed dramatically.

"If you insist my lady," he said offering her a hand as he stood.

"I do, my lord," she replied grinning as she took his hand. "Where are we off to?"

"I am off to get my ass chewed out by Nathan for being late to our little river court session this afternoon and you are welcome to come with me," Lucas said.

"Hmm, watching the man that I love get his head handed to him on a platter by my best friend or watch pay per view TV with Haley and Brooke… decisions, decisions," Peyton said. "How ever will I choose?"

"Maybe I can help you make up your mind?" Lucas said lewdly, leaning down and kissing her deeply.

They both sighed as they broke apart.

"I love you," she whispered.

"I love you too," he murmured back, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. "Come, let us go face the wrath of the might dragon and then retire to my castle for an evening of leftover pizza and _The Chronicles of Reddick_."

"Sci-fi, eh?" Peyton asked wrinkling her nose in mock distaste. "Oh well, there are worse fates."

"Yeah, you could be stranded on a deserted planet on the verge of an eclipse with a murderer and flesh eating monsters that come out only at night," Lucas said grinning as they walked out of the café and started heading toward the river court.

His headache gradually faded away to a dull, continuous ache as they shared friendly banter on the walk to the basketball court, disappearing fully as he and Peyton stepped onto the ancient blacktop.

Nathan was sitting on one of the picnic tables, bouncing a basketball half-heartedly. He looked completely bored. Lucas felt a pang of guilt surge through him as his brother looked up.

"Hey," Nathan greeted them. "Everything all right?"

"I'm fine," Lucas said waving him off. "I just got held up at work."

It wasn't a complete lie, but it wasn't the total truth. Nathan seemed to know that, for he glanced at Lucas suspiciously. Thankfully, he didn't press the issue and for that, Lucas was grateful. He took the basketball out of Nathan's hands.

"What's this masterful plan of yours?" Nathan challenged.

"Nothing fancy," Lucas said shrugging. "Just the usual five hours of basketball training a day for you while I sit on my ass drinking ice cold beverages, watching you work out and pestering Duke until they give you a full ride. Hell, I might even pull out the injured brother story and feed them that."

"That's your plan?" Nathan asked in disbelief. "That's never going to work."

"Well nothing's going to work unless you get yourself back into shape," Lucas retorted drawing himself up to full height. "You neglected everything when you were… away."

Nathan's jaw set into a firm line. Lucas knew that he had hit a nerve, but he wasn't about to apologize.

"Give me the damn ball and tell me what I have to do," the younger Scott growled.

* * *

Brooke was anxious. She couldn't explain why she was anxious, but there was something about the shocked look on Stephen's face as he talked to his mother on his cell phone that made her extremely anxious. However, she waited patiently until he had hung up the phone and slowly turned to face her before asking what was going on.

"Kayla was in an accident," he whispered.

Brooke's heart plummeted. Stephen and his sister had always been very close. If anything had happened to her, then Stephen would be a mess.

"Is she okay?" Brooke asked placing a gentle hand on Stephen's shoulder.

Stephen shook his head.

"She and her friends were on their way home from softball practice last night," he said. "They were hit by a drunk driver. Kayla was in the passenger's seat. They said she died instantly."

"Oh my god," Brooke cried taking Stephen's hand. "I am so sorry."

"I should have been there," Stephen said pulling away from her. "I should have been there for Kayla. I should have been the one driving her home from softball so she wouldn't have had to get a ride home. Damn it!"

"Stephen, this isn't your fault," Brooke tried to protest. "It was an accident."

"It doesn't make a difference," Stephen said bitterly. "She's dead and I should have been there."

"What would you have done, had you been there?" Brooke demanded. "You would have been killed, too!"

"At least I would have died with a free conscience!" Stephen said his voice angry now as he took a few steps toward the door.

"You can't mean that," Brooke said shocked by his reaction.

"I can't? Well, that's a surprise, because I sure as hell think I do," Stephen said shaking his head. He sighed heavily and bowed his head. "I'm sorry."

"Stephen," Brooke said softly taking a few steps closer to him. "This isn't your fault. It's not. Some times, bad things happen and there's no one to blame."

"I should have been there, Brooke," Stephen whispered. "She was my responsibility. Through our parents' divorce, through Mom's constant string of ex-boyfriends, I was the one who was there to protect her. To take care of her. And now, she's dead because I was stubborn and couldn't deal with my problems."

"She is not dead because of you," Brooke said taking his hand again and squeezing it gently. "She was on her way back from softball practice. That has nothing to do with you."

"Really?" he laughed bitterly. "She started playing softball because she wanted to be just like me. Just like her big brother. And it ended up getting her killed. This is my fault."

"If not being there because you needed to be your own person, then I guess it is your fault," Brooke said.

She didn't mean it. He knew that she didn't mean it. But that didn't stop there from being a broken expression on his handsome face or him from letting go of Brooke's hand and walking to the door.

"Leaving the house was a big mistake," Stephen said his voice harsh. "But I guess falling in love with you was an even bigger one because I left the house for you as much as I left it for me."

He turned and walked out the door. Brooke recoiled as it slammed shut behind him. Tears stung the back of her eyes as she realized that he was gone and wasn't coming back.

* * *

Lucas grabbed some Tylenol from the cabinet and a water bottle from the fridge, setting both on the table and burying his head in his hands. It was hurting so much that he could barely see straight now and he felt as though he was going to throw up. He never remembered feeling this physically horrible before.

"What's going on with me?" he whispered to the empty kitchen.

"Luke? You coming to watch the movie or what?"

Peyton's soft voice coming from the living room made Lucas jump. He had forgotten that she was in the room next door along with Nathan and Haley, all of whom were waiting on him to bring back the popcorn so they could start the movie.

"Yeah, I'll be right there," he said his voice hoarse as he fought to swallow around the lump in his throat. There was no way in hell he was going to be able to hide how much pain he was in from them. He needed to tell someone, but he couldn't bring himself to. They all were just beginning to heal from Nathan's drug addiction and the fallout that that had caused. Things were starting to finally be okay. That evening had been a strong indication of that fact. Nathan was on his way to becoming a basketball super star again, with Lucas's somewhat crazed coaching style. Haley and Nathan were finally getting over the damage both of them had caused one another. Lucas was shopping for rings, because he knew that there was no one else in the world he wanted to spend his life with more than Peyton. He wasn't about to go and ruin that.

The microwave beeped, signaling that the popcorn was done. Lucas grabbed a bowl from one of the cabinets and dumped the entire bag of popcorn into it. He swallowed two Tylenol dry before returning to the living room, making sure to turn out the lights before he sat down next to Peyton on the couch.

"Popcorn?" he whispered handing her the bowl as Nathan pressed play.

Lucas knew that he wasn't going to be able to hide his constant headaches for long, but for now, he was going to try his hardest not to make everyone else worry about him.


	33. Author's Note 3

**Author's Note 3:**

**Note:**

**I'd like to start out by saying that this story was only supposed to be twenty chapters long. But somehow, along the way, I kind of lost sight of where I was going with this story and started rambling and then bam. Thirty chapters and still no end in sight. I'm not making any promises, but there is a good chance that this story could turn out to be sixty chapters long like _ODOPOSOR. _Keep reading and reviewing and maybe that will happen.**

**I would also like to say that there will be a sequel. It's title is going to be _Shattered Remains_. I will be giving out more details the closer we get to the finish of this story. But for now, just know that it's going to be based around the song _Shattered_ by Trading Yesterday and it's going to be set 10 years in the future. There will also be a major character death at the end of the story, so don't get too attached to any of the characters.**

**Cause For Celebration: **

**I won NaNoWriMo!! Woot!! That is definitely cause for celebration. Also, we hit thirty chapters, a feat I thought was not going to be possible when I first started this story. Honestly, when I wrote the first chapter, I had no idea as to where I was going, so congratulations guys for getting me this far. All that credit goes to you.**

**The Scoop:**

**Well, in these past chapters we have seen a lot of character development and added plot lines. I will be the first to say that I am really excited about the newest angst-filled hurtLucas plot I have set up. I hope you guys aren't too disappointed when I reveal what's going to happen to him. There is going to be a lot of Stephen/Lucas interaction in the next few chapters as Lucas finds out what's wrong with him and learns to deal with it. I hope you don't mind or think that I beat up on Lucas too much (even though I do).**

**Comments and Concerns:**

**I know, I haven't been the world's best updater as of late, but I am hoping that I'm going to change that for the next ten chapters. I will try to warn you the next time I go on a month long hiatus. **

**Songs:**

**No songs to mention in these chapters.**

**Questions:**

**The only question I can think of at the moment is: What do you think is wrong with Lucas? (A special treat for whoever guesses it correctly!!)**

**Extra Stuff:**

**I'd like to send a shoutout to everyone who has read and reviewed this. You guys are awesome!! Oh, and be sure to check out the poll on my profile.**

**Until the next chapter,**

**Scott Winchester 22 3**


	34. Chapter 31

**Disclaimer: I do not own _One Tree Hill_ or any of its characters.**

**Author's Note: This chapter is basically setting up for the next one, which will contain the first of the two parties mentioned in earlier chapters. It is kind of boring--it's mostly Stephen and Lucas and their bathroom talks. Not as weird as it sounds, I promise. But be warned, it's not the best chapter in the world. **

**Reviews are like chocolate and keep the author going!!**

**Broken Hearts and Healing Minds**

**Chapter 31**

Stephen put his car in park, but left the engine idling. He wasn't sure if he would be able to handle being back here again after everything that happened over the three days. He knew he wouldn't be able to handle seeing her friends who had been at the funeral the day before. And as far as things with Brooke went, Stephen didn't even want to think about it. He had reacted childishly and had hurt Brooke more than he had ever meant to.

"What are you going to do, Burns?" he asked himself as he killed the engine. "Sit here and cry like a little girl all day or face the world like a man?"

Stephen looked to the passenger's seat, where Kayla had often sat chattering away about some trivial thing he could have cared less about. He had never given it a second thought before about how much he would miss her ramblings. It seemed unfair that she had died.

The all too familiar tears stung the back of his eyes as he tore his gaze away from the empty seat and climbed out of the car. Stephen blinked them back quickly, not wanting anyone else to see and worry about it. Sympathy was what he was good at giving, but not so much receiving.

Tyler met him with a grim look and a cup of coffee at the main entrance to the school. Stephen accepted the coffee with a brief nod of thanks.

"It's not your fault, Steve," Tyler said softly as they joined the mass of people inside the school. "You need to stop beating yourself up over it."

"You know, I wish people would stop saying that," Stephen said tonelessly. "It's starting to get on my nerves."

"You can PMS all you want, man, but frankly, you're going to have to accept that some things aren't in your control," Tyler said.

"You're a real bastard, you know that?" Stephen asked.

"That's why I'm your best friend," Tyler said with a shrug. "And to remind you that if you don't get your ass to class, you're going to get a detention. Barker won't let the third tardy rule slide for anyone, not even you, golden boy."

"I'm skipping," Stephen said shortly. "The only reason why I came today was to talk to Brooke."

"Brooke's not here," Tyler said. "If you want to talk to her, you can always go back to the apartment you two are supposedly sharing. Oh, by the way, you owe me two hundred bucks. I covered your money for the rent."

"I gave you those two hundred bucks," Stephen reminded him. "And why isn't Brooke in school? Is she okay?"

"You could always ask her yourself," Tyler said. "I'm not your messenger. Just your friend."

"You suck at both jobs," Stephen growled as the bell rang signaling the start of first period. "Don't you have a class to be in or something?"

"I have first period off, remember?" Tyler reminded him. "And besides, it's not like I'm going to be here in two weeks, so what's the point in going to class anyway?"

Stephen stopped short. He had forgotten all about Tyler's leaving town and was suddenly struck with a wave of loneliness.

"Sorry," he muttered.

Tyler shrugged.

"I'll forgive you," he said. "But Stephen, seriously, talk to Brooke. You're a pain in the ass when you don't."

"I will," Stephen said sighing heavily. "But there are some other things I need to deal with first."

"She put you first when she had that miscarriage," Tyler said. "I think you need to put her first now. She and Kayla were friends, man. She can probably help you through this more than anyone else."

"Have you been watching _Oprah_ again?" Stephen asked.

"Hey, that's quality TV," Tyler said punching Stephen lightly on the shoulder.

Something up ahead caught Stephen's eye. The hallways were now empty, because everyone was supposed to be in class, so the person going into the boys' bathroom really stood out. Stephen was fairly certain he knew who it was.

"Look, I know that you care and everything, but do you mind if I catch up with you later?" Stephen asked. "There is something that I need to do."

"Sure," Tyler said. "I need to talk to Haley anyway. I'll see you at practice?"

"I don't know," Stephen said slowly.

He had been ducking baseball practice as of late because he didn't want to be reminded of Kayla and how he would keep an eye on her from one field over. It hurt too much.

"C'mon, man. Banks said he was going to give your spot away if you didn't get to practice soon," Tyler said.

"I—it's hard, man," Stephen said lamely.

"I know," Tyler said. "But I also know that Kayla wouldn't want you sitting out your life on account of feeling guilty either."

"I'll see you later," Stephen said shortly. "Maybe at practice, maybe not. I haven't decided."

Tyler nodded once and Stephen headed to the boys' bathroom.

* * *

Lucas sank against the wall, letting his bag drop to the ground as he placed his face in his hands and closed his eyes. He thought he would have been able to handle school today, after spending the last two days skipping out on account of senior skip days. He was wrong.

The fire alarm rang somewhere in the distance and Lucas let out a loud groan. Had that damn alarm always been so loud? He always thought that it had been quieter.

The door to the bathroom creaked open and the lights flipped on. Lucas had turned them off when he was certain that no one was going to disturb him.

"Turn those damn lights off," he growled not caring who it was. He wanted to be left alone in his misery.

"Lucas?"

Lucas groaned internally as the lights were instantly shut off again and Stephen walked over to him. He hadn't said very much to the other blond recently, not after he walked out on Brooke when she had just been trying to help him. It had been a shitty thing to do and Lucas wasn't above holding grudges. Brooke had been through a lot and she was heart broken. Even if the guy lost his sister, it was still no excuse.

"M'fine. Go the hell away," Lucas said flinching away as Stephen rested a hand on his shoulder. Was it sad to say that every little bit of him ached?

"Yeah, you look freaking peachy," Stephen said sarcastically.

There were sounds of the other man's sliding down the wall to join him on the bathroom floor. Lucas was surprised.

"If I wanted your opinion, I'd ask for it," he grouched. "Leave me alone."

"That's why you came into a public bathroom," Stephen said.

"I thought I locked the damn door," Lucas muttered. "Guess not."

"You did," Stephen said brightly. "I had a spare paper clip in my pocket. You can never carry around too many of those things."

"I'll keep that in mind for when I'm breaking into your house to kidnap you," Lucas said pressing his palms against his forehead. Nothing seemed to help.

"Have you taken anything for that migraine you're sporting or did you just decide to become a silent sufferer like always?" Stephen asked.

"I have taken four Tylenol, two ibuprofen, one and a half Advil cause that's all we had for some reason, and even begged some guy to knock me out, so long as he didn't touch my head," Lucas said. "This being after the week long headache I've had."

"You should probably go to a doctor," Stephen said.

"No thanks. I'll take the agony," Lucas said opening his eyes to the pitch blackness. He all but groaned in relief.

"Doctors really aren't that bad," Stephen disagreed.

"Yeah. That explains why you left your family because your mom wanted to marry one," Lucas retorted.

He could almost hear Stephen's guilt, it was that intense. Lucas felt bad for bringing it up so callously, but he wasn't about to take it back. He was pissed at Stephen.

"That was different," Stephen said stiffly. "And it wasn't because he was a doctor. It was because he was the sixth boyfriend my mom was engaged to in a five month time span."

"Ouch," Lucas commented.

"Yeah," Stephen said. "It sucked. The only good thing that came out of it was that I got to spend some quality time with Kayla."

"I heard about what happened," Lucas said leaning his head back against the mercifully cool tiled wall. "I am really sorry about that."

"But you're pissed at me for walking out on Brooke," Stephen said.

"It was the wrong thing to do, Stephen," Lucas said reaching for his bag and finding his water bottle. "She was just trying to be there for you. She loves you."

"Really?"

Stephen sounded surprised. Lucas was astonished that he hadn't figured it out yet. It was obvious that Brooke was madly in love with him.

"Dude, you're an idiot," Lucas said bluntly.

"I've been told that before," Stephen said. "But I think you take the 'idiot of the year' award."

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Lucas said waving him off. "Nearly getting everyone killed on a monthly basis and then not admitting to them the fact that I probably have a growing brain tumor… yeah, definite contender for idiot of the year."

"Must be a blonde thing," Stephen said.

"Peyton's not an idiot," Lucas disagreed.

"She can be," Stephen argued. "Especially when she has nightmares and doesn't want to talk to you about them."

"Have you been having secret make-out sessions with my girlfriend?" Lucas half-teased.

"I already tried that road," Stephen said. "It didn't work out too well for me. You ended up with Peyton, remember?"

Lucas smiled in the darkness, knowing that Stephen couldn't see him. He was glad, too.

"Yeah, I remember," he said.

There was a brief, companionable silence between them.

"You know," Stephen said. "Your headaches might not be a growing brain tumor. They could be because you're stressed."

"Oh?" Lucas asked closing his eyes again.

"It's been proven that stress causes insane migraines," Stephen said. "My mom used to get them a lot. Of course, hers were mostly because she smoked, but you don't smoke. You could always try taking a break for a little while, rest and relaxation, that sort of thing."

"If I do, the apartment rent goes unpaid, I fail out of school, and the whole world goes kablewy," Lucas said dryly.

Stephen snorted.

"A little full of yourself, aren't you? You honestly think that the world's going to end if you take some time off?"

"You haven't spent much time around the Scott family, have you?"

"I have heard legends of your family's insanity."

"We're legendary now? That is really cool."

"It's kind of hard not to become legends when you take up so much of the front page. 'Boy Comes Back From Death… For the 10th Time.' It gets people's attention."

"I try. You know me, attention hog and all."

"You do a good job of hiding it. But seriously, if you just took like one day off from school and work, you might actually get rid of that tension headache."

"I tried taking a day off of school."

"Outside of the hospital."

Lucas was quiet for a minute.

"What's your idea of a day off?"

"Well, you can start by going to the party tonight. Then tomorrow, just take off from work. I'm running the baseball clinic in Raleigh this weekend. We won't get behind on the bills. Nathan got his job back at the mechanic shop. Hang out with Peyton at the river court for a change or take her on a nice date. I know it's been a while since the two of you have done that sort of thing."

"You are a total stalker, Stephen. But I'll do that, on one condition."

"What?"

"You talk to Brooke. Like seriously, talk to her. Take her up to Raleigh with you this weekend or something. Tell her about Kayla, tell her about anything. Tell her that you love her. Tell her that you're sorry for being an ass."

"I think that's a condition I can live with."

"Good."

There was a brief pause. Then;

"Are we going to hang out in the bathroom all day or are you actually planning on going to class?"

"Do you have a better idea of passing the time when you have a migraine?"

"Good point."

"You can always leave, Stephen. Go to baseball practice or something."

"I will. And Lucas?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks. For everything."

"I don't know what all I did, but you're welcome. And thank _you_, too. For just being here. And for everything else you've done in the past."

"No problem."

* * *

Nathan sat on the edge of the courtyard with his bottle of water and sandwich, waiting for Haley to join him. She had promised that she was going to eat lunch with him today after Lucas mysteriously disappeared after they got to school that morning. Peyton had said she was going home for lunch—her dad was in town for the weekend and she wanted to spend some quality time with him.

Haley exited the school building, obviously distracted by the person who was walking behind her. The person was Tyler, who, judging by the look on Haley's face, was telling an interesting story.

Nathan waited patiently, trying not to be too envious of the way Haley was chatting animatedly with Tyler and the fact that she was rarely like that with him. She had a right to have her own friends and date whoever the hell she wanted. Tyler was leaving in a few weeks anyway. Nathan shouldn't be feeling the stabs of jealousy that were now coursing through him as Tyler leaned down and gave Haley a hug and a swift peck on the cheek.

He suddenly couldn't take it anymore. Not caring that he had promised Haley that he would eat lunch with her, Nathan gathered up his things and stalked back into the building. He was suddenly very anxious to get to the party that night. There would be booze and there would be other distractions to help take his mind off of Haley and her obvious attraction to Tyler.

* * *

Peyton slammed her locker door with more force than was absolutely necessary. Tears stung the back of her eyes as she shoved her books angrily into her bag and started storming off to her next class. She couldn't believe the nerve of her father to tell her that he was taking a job in freaking Norway after he had promised her that he would be sticking closer to home.

"Peyton?"

Lucas's soft, slightly pained voice made Peyton pause. She turned to face him, choking down her anger at her father and trying to force a smile on her face. She was surprised by how exhausted he looked.

"Hey," she said. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," he said. It was a lie—he looked like he had a massive headache. She was concerned; he had been complaining of a headache for the past few days now.

"You know, I can't stand people who lie to me," Peyton said irritably. "If you're going to lie, then don't talk to me."

She regretted her harsh words instantly when a flash of hurt crossed his face.

"I was going to ask you if you wanted to hang out this weekend," Lucas said. "But since you don't seem to want to talk to me at the moment, then I guess we'll just have to do something some other time."

"Lucas," she started to protest.

"I'll see you at the party," he said turning around and walking in the complete opposite direction for his next class.

_I need a drink_, Peyton thought darkly as she stomped to her math class.


	35. Chapter 32

**Disclaimer: I do not own _One Tree Hill _or any of its characters.**

**Author's Note: So originally, this chapter was going to have Brooke and Haley in it too as well as Stephen's POV, _but_, it started getting way too long with just Nathan and Lucas's (5 pages). So, I tacked on Peyton's and then the fallout of her actions... and then a very evil cliffhanger in Lucas' POV. The next chapter will have more of the other characters in it. **

**Author's Note 2: Don't hate me too much for this chapter, all right? I had a migraine when I wrote the first half of this and was working on about four hours of sleep when I wrote the second half. It probably doesn't make a whole lot of sense in parts... and I take total responsibility for that. The next chapter, I promise, will get better.**

**Special thanks to RJMoonspelt for the ideas. You get credit for what's going to happen in the next chapter!!**

**

* * *

**

**Broken Hearts and Healing Minds**

**Chapter 32**

Rap music pulsed from every open window from the house in front of them as Stephen parked his car against the curb. Lucas stared out at the crowded front lawn of the massive house in front of them, wondering why on earth he had ever agreed to do this. His head was still hurting, though it wasn't as bad as it had been earlier that day. The three more Tylenol he had taken when he had gotten home seemed to do the trick.

"Look, I know that you don't want to be here especially after what happened with Peyton this afternoon," Stephen began. "But you seriously need to relax. Who knows? Maybe she'll be here and you two can get the chance to catch up."

"You have been watching _Oprah_," Lucas said rolling his eyes. "Let's just get this over with, okay? And please, when you get home, change into something a little less… _emo_. I'm supposed to be the dark one, remember?"

Stephen was dressed in a pair of black jeans and a black button up shirt, the exact same outfit he had been wearing ever since his sister died. Lucas wouldn't have minded so much, except for the fact that the other guy was starting to smell.

"I can't let you have all the glory," Stephen said.

"Don't worry, I don't have it all," Lucas said as they got out of the car. "You haven't seen Nathan by any chance, have you?"

"Dude, I just got here, like five seconds ago, same as you," Stephen pointed out. "And I was at baseball practice until then. I haven't seen Nathan at all. Besides, do you really think that he would be here?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Lucas demanded as they headed up the long driveway to the mansion that lay on top of the hill.

"I'm just saying, he's been trying really hard to recover from his drug addiction. Why would he risk that over something as stupid as this?" Stephen asked.

"Don't forget that this was your idea," Lucas shot back. "And Nathan's been a little overeager to prove to everyone that he's not a druggie anymore. He told me at the café that he would be here."

_Among other things,_ Lucas thought. Nathan had told him that Haley had been talking to Tyler on the quad earlier that day. While the older Scott had thought it wasn't a big deal, Nathan had thought it was the end of the world and was now refusing to speak to Haley.

"You worry too much," Stephen told him as they entered the crowded house. "You need to lighten up. Have a few drinks, take your mind off of things."

"I drink every night," Lucas reminded him.

Stephen had discovered the bottle of vodka stored underneath the island the week before when looking for a spare flashlight. Lucas never did discover why the other man was looking for a flashlight.

"You drink spiked orange juice," Stephen said grabbing two plastic cups from a table and filling them from the huge keg that sat beside the pile of cups. "You don't drink beer. And beer, my dear friend, has amazing healing qualities, guaranteed to take away any headache."

"Ha," Lucas snorted as he took the cup from Stephen. "That's a bunch of crap."

"Drink and shut your mouth," Stephen said. "Peyton will show up eventually, you two will talk things over, you shall discover what it was that made her call you a liar, and then you'll make up, make out, and go on your merry way. Meanwhile, I shall be stuck here in with this crazy mass of people, alone, might I add, and write love ballads while Brooke refuses to talk to me."

"You could always try apologizing," Lucas told him. He spotted Peyton entering the house and instantly turned around.

"You're acting like you're in junior high," Stephen informed him. "Suck up your hurt feelings and just go talk to her."

"I'll listen to you when you aren't pining away for Brooke," Lucas shot back taking a swallow of the beer. It was absolutely disgusting

"Ouch. That hurt," Stephen said throwing his cup on the floor and grabbing another one. "I'm going to go find Brooke. Meet you at the car in a few hours?"

"I'll drive," Lucas said knowing he wasn't drinking any more of the beer. "Give me your keys."

"No using my car as a make-out room, okay?" Stephen said. "I just finished cleaning it from the last time Tyler and I went to one of these things."

Lucas rolled his eyes as Stephen disappeared into the crowds. Peyton chose that moment to walk up.

"Hey," she said quietly, her voice barely audible over the pulsing music. "I didn't expect to find you here."

"Though I lied about coming as well?" Lucas asked before he could stop himself.

Peyton looked apologetic.

"I didn't mean that," she said. "I was just pissed off at my dad. He told me that he was leaving for Norway next week after he promised that he was sticking close to Tree Hill."

"I'm sorry," Lucas said earnestly. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"No, not really," Peyton said grabbing a cup and filling it with beer. "I just kind of want to take my mind off of things for a while."

"That's not going to help," Lucas said.

"If I wanted your opinion on how I should live my life, I would have asked for it," Peyton said icily as she took a huge gulp of the beer.

"Fine," Lucas said his voice hardening. "If you want space, fine. Just say so."

He stalked away before Peyton had the chance to say anything.

* * *

Nathan entered the house, feeling nervous and out of place. He didn't know why he was feeling like this. He had been to plenty of parties in the past and he had always fit right in.

_But you've never been accused of being a druggie, either_.

Nathan shoved the little voice in the back of his mind away, not wanting to rehash the idiotic decisions he had made in the past. That was not why he came here tonight. He was just looking for a good time and a chance to take his mind off of Haley. That wasn't too much to ask.

He found Peyton sitting by the keg table, looking like she had just swallowed a bottle of hot sauce.

"What's up with you?" he asked as he grabbed a cup and filled it with beer.

"Lucas," Peyton said her voice bitter and angry. Nathan was surprised.

"Trouble in paradise?"

"You know, you're twice as annoying when I'm drunk then you are when I'm sober," Peyton said.

"And you're twice as pissy drunk as you are when you're sober," Nathan retorted leaning against the table beside her. He knew better than to take things literally with her when she was in a mood. And she was in one, a rare _I'm Peyton Sawyer and I'm pissed off and no one can touch me_ mood that he hadn't seen since their freshmen year of high school. Not since she started dating Lucas, anyway.

"Touché," Peyton said raising her cup to clink against his. "Why are you drinking? Aren't you supposed to be Mr. Sober right now?"

"That's only when it comes to drugs," Nathan said. "Alcohol, according to Lucas, is like water. I can have as much of it as I want. Of course, he has to say that. He drinks like two bottles of vodka a week. And that has been since I've returned."

"Can we not talk about Lucas right now?" Peyton asked. "I love the guy dearly, I do, I just don't want to talk about him right now."

"Want to talk about why you don't want to talk about him?" Nathan asked as he finished off his first cup of beer and grabbed a second. Peyton was moving on to her third since he had walked over.

"Maybe I'm really drunk or maybe that question didn't make any sense at all," Peyton said gulping down her next cup.

"How many of those have you had?" Nathan asked putting his hand over hers to stop her from getting more.

"I don't know," Peyton said. "Four, I think. Maybe six."

"Don't you think that it's time to stop?" Nathan asked gently. "The night's still young. Wait an hour or two before you continue on your binge drinking."

"Who are you, my father? No wait, my father is going to Norway, after he promised he was going to stay in Tree Hill. You must be my overly possessive boyfriend who claims he loves me dearly but won't show it in public," Peyton said bitterly. "No wait, maybe you're my best friend. You should know him, he looks exactly like you, but he's never around anymore after he promised he would never leave. The one that was the best guy I knew but then had to go and ruin it because he couldn't deal with his fucking problems anymore! Or maybe, you're my other friend, the one who claims to love my best friend and then goes around stabbing people in the back because she's an idiot! 'I love Nathan, but I'm totally screwing Tyler!'. Why the hell can't people just be who they say they are?"

Nathan was silent, not certain as to what he could say to that rant. She had fair points in all of them and it hurt him to hear that Haley was doing it with Tyler. He had thought that she was saving herself for marriage, but he should have known that that was just another excuse to get out of being with him.

"At least you aren't my ex-boyfriend that keeps messing up with his current girlfriend because he's an ass," Peyton said. "He's currently getting all chummy with my boyfriend because they can't seem to keep their significant others in good moods."

"What is that Lucas has done to you, exactly?" Nathan wanted to know.

"You must be my best friend!" Peyton exclaimed drunkenly throwing her arms out. "You are too dense to be anyone else! Didn't I just say that I didn't want to talk about Lucas?"

"You know you're kind of an ass when you're drunk?" Nathan asked in amusement as he poured himself another drink.

"You know that you're kind of an ass all the time?" Peyton retorted. "Why do you care so much anyway? You haven't been around in _months_, Nate."

"You can keep trying to turn this conversation around on me, but we both know you're going to continue drinking this god-awful beer until you spill your guts," Nathan said. "And believe me; you're going to hate yourself in the morning if you don't talk now."

"Who says I don't want to hate myself in the morning?" Peyton challenged.

"Peyton," Nathan said sighing heavily. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Peyton said shrugging. "Everything. My dad got this new job, right? It's great and everything. It pays a lot of money and he gets to be home for my graduation."

"Then what's the problem?" Nathan asked.

"The job's in Norway. And as much as I'd love for him to be at my graduation, honestly, I'd prefer to see him on weekends and holidays then only see him once before I go off to college," Peyton said as she drained yet another cup of beer.

"I'm sorry," Nathan said softly. "Have you told Lucas about this?"

"No," Peyton replied. "And I don't really want to, either. He's just going to be all sympathetic and I don't think I can handle that right now. Not when I know that he feels like absolute shit and probably doesn't want to hear me bitching about my dad."

"Lucas loves you, Peyton. And he would want to know," Nathan said earnestly. "And what do you mean, he feels like absolute shit?"

"Have you seriously not been paying a lick of attention to anything outside of Haley?" Peyton demanded. "Lucas has been suffering from serious migraines since he got out of the hospital. He's been late to your little ball sessions every evening because I practically have to drag his ass out of the bathroom. He's really sick, Nate."

"Has he told anyone?" Nathan asked concerned.

"He's been getting all buddy-buddy with my ex-boyfriend lately," Peyton said glaring off in a general direction. Nathan figured that's where Stephen was standing.

"I can't believe I haven't noticed," he said shaking his head.

"Don't be too hard on yourself," Peyton said as she poured herself yet another cup of beer. "I didn't notice either until… well; you are denser than most people. He'll forgive you. I, on the other hand, probably won't. Especially if he dies."

"You're a bitch," Nathan commented.

"Only when I'm drunk," Peyton retorted. "And you would be too."

"What's going on with you and Lucas?" Nathan asked.

"Nothing," she replied. "And that's the problem. He says that he loves me and everything when we're alone, but every time we're out in public, he avoids me like the plague!"

"He avoids everyone like the plague," Nathan pointed out. "Lucas isn't exactly a friendly person."

"That's not true," Peyton disagreed. "He started chatting it up with some random woman on the street the other night when we were walking to the river court. He acted like he was her best friend or something. I asked him about it later and he said that it was the first time he had ever met her."

"You're jealous," Nathan stated.

"And you're a master of the obvious," Peyton replied sardonically. "I wouldn't care so much if he actually acted like he loved me when we're around other people. Is that too much to ask?"

"I'm not the relationship expert here, Peyton," Nathan said. "Remember? I'm the one with the marriage proposal rejected and no significant other to speak of. If you want advice, I'd go ask someone else."

"Like who?" Peyton challenged. She looked away. "You know what? Never mind. I'll figure something out."

"Some how, I don't think that you, alcohol, and those words are a good mix," Nathan said. "What are you going to do? And please don't tell me that it's something destructive and crazy."

"Fine. Then I won't tell you," Peyton said before stalking off.

* * *

Lucas didn't know who the hell that other guy was, but he knew exactly who the girl hanging off of him was. He also knew that if that guy didn't remove his hands from Peyton's shoulders soon, then the guy was going to need a face job and Lucas was probably going to need to borrow money to pay for his bail.

"You're Lucas Scott aren't you?"

Lucas barely glanced up as a tall redheaded girl sat down next to him on the stairwell. He was about to stand up and storm over to where Peyton was now making out with the guy when the girl sitting next to him forcefully turned his head to face her.

"Ow. What the hell? Who are you?"

"Name's Rachel. Rachel Gatina," the girl said. "And that's all you need to know, hometown hottie."

* * *

Peyton broke away from the kiss, feeling as though she had just been immersed in ice water. She couldn't believe that she had done that. Again. Especially to Lucas, the guy who she loved more than anything.

"Hey, what's wrong?" the boy she had been making out with—Greg, Garret… something like that—asked.

"Nothing," Peyton said. "I just—I need to get out of here."

"I'll give you a ride home," he offered.

Peyton turned, ready to say no, when a sight caught her eye. She felt as though she had been kicked in the stomach when she saw Lucas and a strange redhead girl in a rather intimate position on the stairwell.

"You know what? I changed my mind. Let's stay here for a little while longer," she said sitting back down in Greg's (it was definitely Greg, she thought) lap.

Greg (or was it Grayson?) smiled happily as she met his lips with her own.

* * *

Lucas angrily pushed Rachel away, hardly able to believe the nerve she had to just walk up to him and start kissing him. It was completely wrong, especially when he was in love with Peyton.

"I'm sorry," Rachel began.

Lucas stood up abruptly, turning to look at Peyton and feeling as though his heart had been ripped out of his chest when he realized that she was still making out with that jackass.

_Well,_ he thought darkly, _let her_. He was leaving. Now.

Ignoring Rachel's blubbering apologies, Lucas stormed up the stairs in search of Stephen or Nathan, thinking that maybe one of them would want a ride home. Stephen was nowhere to be found on the upper level of the house and no one had seen him since he had arrived at the party. Nathan, according to a group of stoners, was in the room at the far end of the hallway.

"Thanks," Lucas said to the group before following their directions to the room.

Right as he pushed open the door, he knew it was a mistake in coming to the party in the first place. It had been an idiotic decision. He made a mental note to ignore Stephen's suggestions in the future.

Now, though, Lucas was fairly certain that he wasn't going to have a problem living up to that. He wondered how many years in prison he would get for murdering his brother.

Nathan was sitting on the edge of a large circle, a syringe and rubber hose sticking out of his pocket.


	36. Chapter 33

**Disclaimer: I do not own _One Tree Hill_ or any of its characters.**

**Author's Note: I changed my mind about the direction I wanted this chapter to go in about halfway through it. As a result, this chapter got cut in half and the next chapter will be the second half of the original of this one. So... enjoy.**

**Author's Note 2: I was kind of surprised at the amount of response the last chapter had. I wasn't expecting everyone to get that enthusastic over everything. Not that I mind... it was great to get that kind of response. So, I hope you will continue through the next few chapters.**

**Broken Hearts and Healing Minds**

**Chapter 33**

Haley walked out of the crowded bathroom, crossing her arms uncomfortably over her chest. She couldn't believe the nerve of some of the people at the party, just doing it on every available surface. It was creepy as hell and wrong. Did anyone have any respect for privacy around here?

She saw Peyton sitting by herself on one of the empty couches, looking as though she had just been kicked in the stomach. Knowing that Peyton hadn't been in the best of moods lately because of her father's return, Haley decided to talk to her friend.

"Hey," Peyton said softly as Haley sat down next to her. "You don't want to be around me right now. I screw up everything I touch."

"What happened now?" Haley asked. She winced inwardly at the stench of alcohol on her friend's breath.

"I made out with Gary on the couch," Peyton said. "And Lucas watched."

"Are you crazy?" Haley demanded not bothering to keep her voice low. There was too much ruckus going on to worry about anyone listening in.

"Yeah," Peyton said honestly. "And lonely and pissed and drunk. I screwed up big time and it was all because I was jealous."

"Of what?" Haley asked in shock.

"Of the way Lucas shows affection to everyone _but_ me in public," Peyton said. "Of how my dad is leaving me again and he has the power to get out of this hellhole of a town whenever he wants. Of Lucas in general for being strong and handsome and smart, even when he has everything thrown at him at once. I'm just jealous and sick of feeling like this and I know, I'm sounding like a whiny brat right now, but I can't help it."

"You are sounding like a whiny brat," Haley said. "And you're acting like a spoiled one. How could you do those things to Lucas? He has forgiven you for _everything_ you have ever done and believe me, you have done a lot of shit that he should never have forgiven you for. He has been through so much and now you tell me that he has to watch you make out with Greg at some dumb party?"

"I just wanted him to show some emotion in public," Peyton muttered. "Do you know what it's like to be completely in love with someone and think that they're completely in love with you only to watch them make out with someone else?"

"What are you talking about?" Haley asked. "I thought you were the one making kissy faces with Gordon."

"I think it was Grayson," Peyton said. "And I was in the process of punching the jack ass's face in when I turned around and found Lucas lip locked with that damn new redhead, Rori or something like that."

"I think her name is Rachel," Haley said.

"Whatever, Hales," Peyton said coldly. "It doesn't matter."

"So you started kissing someone who is not Lucas to make Lucas jealous only to realize that someone else was already kissing Lucas because you weren't?" Haley asked trying to make sense of the jumbled mess her friend was in.

"Something like that," Peyton said hiccupping. "And now, I'm by myself at some lame ass party without a ride home because Lucas left a little while ago, Stephen's drunk and somewhere with Brooke, and I can't find Nathan anywhere."

"I think he left with Lucas an hour ago," Haley said. "C'mon, I'll take you home."

"No," Peyton said petulantly. "I don't want to go back to the apartment like this. Hell, I don't really want to go back to the apartment at all."

"Then go back home," Haley suggested. "Your dad's away, isn't he?"

"No," Peyton said. "He came back only to tell me that he's leaving again tomorrow. Today. It's like two o'clock in the morning, isn't it?"

"It's actually midnight," Haley told her. "But that's not the point. You could always come back to Brooke's apartment if you want."

"Don't you live there too?" Peyton inquired her green eyes looking at Haley slightly out of focus.

"Brooke's off with Stephen at the moment," Haley said with a slight grimace. She didn't even want to know what those two were doing.

"Oh," Peyton said tiredly yawning. "If you promise not to tell anyone where I am, then sure. I want to die in peace."

"Fair enough," Haley said with a slight chuckle. She knew there was nothing humorous about this situation in any way, but dark humor was better than none at all. "C'mon, I'll drive you. Anything else that I might need to know?"

"I might have told Nathan that you're screwing Tyler," Peyton murmured as she stumbled to her feet.

"Well, that's just lovely," Haley said sarcastically. "Remind me to punch you when you're done feeling sorry for yourself."

* * *

Brooke reluctantly pulled away from Stephen and smiled sheepishly. She was glad that they were getting along, but she knew that she didn't want to go all the way tonight as well. It seemed like Stephen wanted that, but he didn't protest as she moved a few inches away from him.

"Everything okay?" he asked in a husky whisper.

"Yeah," Brooke said with a soft smile. "Let's just not ruin this, okay? We just got back together and no offense, but you kind of smell."

Stephen let out a groan as she chucked.

"You and Lucas are crazy," he said. "I took a shower this morning."

"Kill anyone after that shower?" Brooke asked teasingly.

"I might have," Stephen said his eyes twinkling. "Or I might have gone to see my sister."

"Oh, way to put my foot in my mouth," Brooke said smacking herself on the forehead. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"Because I'm trying to move on," Stephen said. "And I was enjoying spending time with my girlfriend who I love very much."

"Did you just say that you love me?" Brooke asked shocked. She knew that she was very much in love with him, but hadn't realized that he felt the same.

"I said I love you very much," Stephen corrected leaning in to kiss her. "And you know me. I don't lie."

"You lie to Lucas all the time," Brooke pointed out. "You told him that his headache was caused by stress."

"Lucas lies to himself and he knows as well as I do that his headache is caused by something more," Stephen said. "But let's not talk about him, okay? Tonight is just about me and you."

"Just how many drinks did you have tonight?" Brooke teased. "You are never like this."

"One or two. Why? You like it?" Stephen asked.

"Maybe," Brooke murmured as she pressed her lips to his. "Maybe I love it. Maybe I love you."

"Well, if that's the case, then let's run away together," Stephen said.

Brooke stared at him for a moment before she realized that he was joking. She smirked and kissed him again.

"I might just take you up on that offer," she warned him. "But not tonight."

"Why not?" Stephen challenged.

"Because we just got back together, for one, after you had a mini meltdown," Brooke said. "And I'm not ready to get married yet. We haven't even graduated high school, Stephen!"

"I never said anything about marriage," Stephen muttered kissing her again. "I just want to get out of Tree Hill."

"Tree Hill is my home," Brooke said softly. "For better or for worse, I love it here."

"God, you sound like you're married to this place!" Stephen said teasingly. "But I guess I'll stick around for this beautiful brunette I met at the party."

"Oh?" Brooke asked in mock jealousy. "Pretty brunette?"

"Well, actually she was drop dead stunning," Stephen said. "She wore this sexy dark green tank top with a black leather jacket and a pair of blue jeans. Her beautiful hair, that barely reached her shoulders, was curled slightly and she wore just enough eye make-up to make her beautiful hazel eyes pop."

"Mhmm," Brooke murmured. "Keep going."

Stephen chuckled before kissing her forehead.

"I love you, Brooke Davis," he whispered.

"I love you too, Stephen Burns," Brooke said.

* * *

Lucas cradled his head in his hands while sitting on the river court picnic table. He felt like absolute shit and the fact that he had caught Nathan with a syringe in his pocket didn't help. Lucas had boldly ran away rather than confronting Nathan at the party, deciding that was one fight he did not want to have in public.

Footsteps on the hard tarmac made Lucas grudgingly look up. He didn't want to talk to anyone, not when he was feeling this miserable, but he also wanted to make sure it wasn't some moron with a knife coming to do away with him either.

"Hey," Nathan said quietly as he sat down next to Lucas on the picnic table. "Everything okay? I saw you cut out of the party early."

Lucas stared at him in disbelief, that stare turning into a withering glare as he realized that Nathan still had the syringe in his pocket.

"Luke?" Nathan prompted.

Lucas stood up, pulled the syringe out of Nathan's pocket and threw it down on the table.

"No, Nathan," he said coldly. "Everything is not okay."

Nathan looked astonished as his eyes went from the vial to Lucas and back again. His mouth opened as he attempted to formulate a reply.

"Luke," he began.

"I don't know which is worse," Lucas said in a dangerously soft voice. "The fact that you used _again_ after you swore to me that you were never going to again or the fact that you have the balls to look surprised that I found out."

"Lucas," Nathan tried to interrupt.

"I thought I could trust you, Nate," Lucas said shaking his head. "I honestly thought I could. But I guess I was wrong."

He stood up and made to leave. Nathan's voice called him back.

"I have never seen this before," the younger Scott said practically shaking with anger. "And I don't know what the hell is going on here, but you have to believe me. I would never go back to using those drugs again."

"Really?" Lucas scoffed. "Because from where I'm standing, it looks like you already have."

"Lucas," Nathan protested.

"It's the same cycle as last time, Nathan," Lucas said. "You got upset because you saw Haley and Tyler talking on the quad. You don't talk to anyone about it and then I find you a few hours later surrounded by stoners and Greenberg, the guy who was good friends with Ryan by the way, and now you come here. You're either high or drunk and because of the syringe in your pocket, I'm inclined to say you're high. And I'm getting the hell out of here before history can completely repeat itself and I wind up in the hospital because you nearly kill me."

"Keep talking like that and I will nearly kill you," Nathan threatened. "Honestly, I thought I was the smart one! I am not using, Lucas. What do I have to do to prove that to you?"

"Clean up your act, for one," Lucas said. "Hanging out with known stoners isn't exactly the brightest of ideas."

"I was in there looking for you," Nathan retorted.

"And you honestly think that I would be in there?" Lucas demanded. "I am a moron."

"Yeah, you are," Nathan shot back. "And I had just stepped in there when those guys, Greenberg and a few of the other ones, started telling me that I should take something. I told them to back the hell off."

"Give me one good reason why I should believe you," Lucas said coldly.

"Because I'm your brother," Nathan said.

"That's not good enough," Lucas said. "If you want me to trust you again, then prove to me you're not using."

With that, he turned and walked away.


	37. Chapter 34

**Disclaimer: I do not own _One Tree Hill_ or any of its characters.**

**Author's Note: So... this is what, fifth update in two weeks? Bet you all are happy about that. I know I am happy with that. **

**Author's Note 2: This chapter features some good old Scott family drama (emphasis on old and drama) and a lot of Nathan and Dan. Yep. Dan makes another miraculous appearance. **

**Author's Note 3: It's cold, wet, and raining outside right now. Expect another update later today or tomorrow.**

**Broken Hearts and Healing Minds**

**Chapter 34**

Nathan's first reaction was to storm after his brother and demand to know where the hell the older Scott got off on accusing him of being incapable of kicking his drug addiction. But he knew that that wouldn't solve anything and he also knew that he would never get through to Lucas when the older Scott was brooding.

"I hate life some days," Nathan growled to no one in particular. He closed his hand into a fist around the syringe before throwing it with all of his might into the river.

"Take that, Lucas!" he shouted. "I am not some useless druggie!"

Tears stung the back of his eyes as he fought to keep himself under control. The alcohol he had consumed earlier wasn't helping and rage was building up inside.

"Nathan?"

His anger raged at the sound of his father's voice behind him. Nathan whirled around to face Dan, fully intent on punching something.

"What do you want, Dan?" he asked maliciously.

"To talk to you," Dan said. "And to make you an offer."

"No thanks," Nathan said through clenched teeth. "Lucas might be all buddy-buddy with you, but I can't stand the sight of you."

"Lucas is of the same opinion," Dan informed him. "He has made himself perfectly clear that the only reason why he is even talking to me in the first place is because he was in need of money. A desperate man will do that."

"Well, I am neither desperate nor in need of money," Nathan retorted coldly. "So you can take whatever the hell you want to say to me and shove it up your ass."

"I think you're forgetting your place in this world," Dan said taking a few steps closer.

"Enlighten me," Nathan offered sarcastically.

"You are the youngest Scott, which means that you are nothing more than a leech off of others. You have nothing to offer the world, so the world has nothing to give you. The only reason why you're still alive is because your brother, the one I saved, decided to save your sorry ass," Dan said harshly.

Nathan flinched with each one of his father's words, knowing that they were true and hating them. What was worse was the fact that his father wasn't finished.

"You used to be my favorite, Nate," Dan said conversationally as he crossed his arms over his chest. "You were the one that I thought would carry on my place in this world. You weren't exactly bright, but you were a good basketball player and you seemed more than willing to be able to manipulate people."

"I've changed," Nathan said icily.

"Clearly," Dan said looking Nathan over with an appraising eye. "I used to think it was Lucas that would be the one who would wind up in the middle of Oak Ridge as a drug dealer. That's why I tried so hard to beat it out of him. I never would have guessed in a million years that it would be you."

"Do you have something you want from me or did you just come here to insult me?" Nathan demanded.

"I have come to offer you a chance to restart your entire future," Dan said. "I will supply you with as much money as you could possibly need to move away from Tree Hill and set up a new life for yourself somewhere far away, like Alaska or Hawaii."

"And let me guess, I am never to return, right?" Nathan asked. "No thanks."

"You're only being a burden on those around you, Nathan," Dan told him. "The only reason why Lucas keeps you around is because he feels sorry for you."

The words stung more than Nathan was willing to admit. He had been thinking along those same lines. Hearing them from his own father only served to make it that much worse.

"You're lying," he said with a shaking voice. "Lucas is my brother. He cares about me."

"Really?" Dan challenged looking amused. "That's not the way it looked from where I was standing."

"You don't know the first thing about it, so just fuck off," Nathan retorted angrily his hands clenching into fists once more.

"Such a temper," Dan said shaking his head. "You really need to learn to let things go, Nate."

"My name is Nathan," Nathan said through clenched teeth. "And I'm not accepting your offer, so why don't you just go to hell?"

"You'll accept my offer," Dan said. "Because if you don't, then I cut off Lucas's money to pay for his heart surgery. And when that happens, you will both go into debt and he will blame you."

"You're lying," Nathan said his breath catching in his throat.

Dan wouldn't be that cruel. He wouldn't purposefully kill everything that Lucas had worked for just like that. _This is Dan we're talking about_, a small voice in Nathan's head reminded him. _The one that beat up your brother for the fun of it and manipulated countless of people. Why wouldn't he do this?_

"We'll see about that," Dan said smiling serenely. "But know that if you refuse my offer now, when push comes to shove, you're not getting any second chances."

"If you screw with my brother, I will kill you myself," Nathan said as the older Scott turned to walk away.

"My, my, Nathan," Dan said. "Looks like you're a man after all. But be careful—don't want to do anything else to ruin those chances of getting into Duke."

Nathan was inches away from closing the gap between him and his estranged father and decking said father, but he knew that wouldn't solve any of his problems. It would make him feel better, yes, but only until the cops came to arrest him for assault. Instead, with an extreme show of self-control, Nathan let his father walk away completely unharmed.

"Damn it!" Nathan shouted the second his father was out of ear shot. "Damn it all!"

* * *

Lucas was barely aware of the fact that he was freezing as he stumbled up the stairs to his apartment. His head throbbed and he felt as though he had been sucker punched in the gut with all the images of the party whirling around in his mind. First Peyton's kiss. He knew that she had been wasted, but it had still hurt to see her making out with some dumbass. Second was Nathan's denial of the drug usage. Lucas would have been pissed off if Nathan had just owned up to it in the first place, but the fact that the younger Scott denied it just made it even worse. _But what if he's not using_? the voice inside his head that always made him want to scream asked.

Lucas angrily pushed the voice away as he fished his key out of his pocket and jammed it into the lock. He was just about to push the door open when a gentle hand on his shoulder made him pause and turn around.

"Haley?" he asked in astonishment. "What are you doing here?"

"Making sure you're okay," Haley said. "Do you mind if I come in?"

"Yeah, sure," Lucas said opening the door and allowing her to step in first.

Haley hesitantly stepped inside as if something was going to appear from the darkened depths of the apartment and bite her.

"Did you kiss Rachel?" she asked as Lucas closed the door behind them and headed for the kitchen.

"She kissed me," Lucas corrected sighing as he sat down at the kitchen island. "You talked to Peyton, didn't you?"

"I did," Haley said with a nod. "She was drunk, you know. Really drunk, as in won't remember what happened to her in the morning, drunk."

"Are you telling me this so I'll forgive her when she comes back here in the morning or are you telling me this because you want to make me feel better?" Lucas asked quirking his lips in the smallest of smirks.

"Both," Haley admitted as she sat down next to him. "Though if you forgive her, then you will ultimately make yourself feel better."

"You're like Yoda, only stranger," Lucas said letting out a sad laugh. He sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"What's up, Luke? You look like you're about to go punch someone," Haley said.

"That's because I am," Lucas told her. "Only I'm not sure who to punch. Nathan, for being an idiot, Greg Baker for being a jackass, or me, for being a complete and utter moron."

"Care to explain any of those?" Haley asked.

"Greg Baker is the guy that Peyton was making out with at the party," Lucas said through clenched teeth as he attempted to force the memory out of his head. "Nathan… I don't really want to talk about it."

"You don't get to do that, Lucas," Haley said. "You don't get to start opening up and then all of a sudden clam up. Come on, tell me what's going on so I can start punching people for you."

Lucas smiled softly.

"You're a great friend, Hales, you know that?"

"It's all apart of my charm," Haley said rolling her eyes. "What's going on with Nathan?"

"You're not going to like I t," Lucas said.

"I think I'll decide that one for myself," Haley told him.

"I think that Nathan's using again," Lucas mumbled resting his head down on the cold table top, hoping that that would relieve his headache.

"What?" Haley asked.

Lucas didn't need to look at her to know that her eyes were wide with surprise and her mouth was hanging open.

"You heard me," he said closing his eyes. "I think he might be. I found him at the party surrounded by drug users and that Greenberg guy. He had a syringe in his pocket."

"Greenberg… as in Michael? As in Ryan's best friend?" Haley asked.

"Do you not care about the syringe I found in Nathan's pocket?" Lucas snapped.

"I do," Haley said instantly. "Believe me, I do. And the second I find Nathan, I'm going to have a long and serious talk with him. But Michael Greenberg… Luke, I still have nightmares about that night."

"I think we all do," Lucas murmured reaching out without lifting his head and taking her hand. He squeezed it gently. "His being there was just a coincidence."

"I thought you didn't believe in coincidences," Haley muttered.

"I am also not paranoid," Lucas said. "And I refuse to believe that Michael's being there had anything to do with you, me, or Peyton. Or Nathan for that matter."

"You're lying," Haley said with a note of stunned realization in her voice. "You believe differently."

"No," Lucas said. "I don't."

"Don't insult me, Luke," Haley said. "I've known you for practically our entire lives. I know when you are lying. So give. What's up?"

"I don't think that Nathan would willingly use those drugs," Lucas admitted as he grudgingly lifted his head off the table. "And I don't think he did. I think tonight, he just had one too many drinks and was pissed at me because I didn't believe him. I don't think Nathan's surprise was an act."

"What does Michael's being there have to do with any of this?" Haley questioned.

"Michael is a lot like Ryan was," Lucas said touching his hand to his face. He remembered vividly the beating Ryan had doled out in the school hallway where Michael and the other kid had pinned Lucas down.

"Which means what exactly?" Haley wanted to know.

"Michael isn't smart," Lucas said. "And he sure as hell isn't Ryan. But he hung out with the guy for years. He was bound to pick up on some of Ryan's ideas eventually. And one of Ryan's ideas was to hurt me and the people I care about in as many ways as possible. And Nathan's drug habits… they aren't exactly a secret. I'm going to assume that Michael knew how I was going to react if I ever found out that Nathan was using again."

"So you're saying that you think someone planted that syringe in Nathan's pocket, knowing that you would find it?" Haley asked incredulously.

"Maybe," Lucas said with a shrug. "Or maybe it's just me trying to believe the best in people. I don't know, Hales. I don't want to believe that Nathan's using. I don't want to believe that Peyton doesn't love me."

"She does, Lucas," Haley said. "She does love you. More than anything else."

"Then why was she making out with Greg?" Lucas asked.

"It's complicated with her," Haley said. She held up her hand when Lucas went to protest. "Her father came home to tell her that he was leaving again. She was upset about that and pissed off because you were acting like her father."

"How?" Lucas demanded. "By telling her that I thought that she had one too many drinks?"

"I don't know," Haley admitted. "She wasn't exactly talkative about that part. Though honestly, Luke, you can tend to be a tad over possessive."

"Thanks Hales," Lucas said sardonically.

"I'm not saying that it's a bad thing," Haley said. "I'm just stating the facts. And I think that that might have pissed her off even more because she went to the party to hang out with the boy that she loves very much and to get away from any form of control."

"I screwed that up, didn't I?" Lucas asked. "Shit."

"It wasn't entirely you," Haley said. "It was mostly her fault, so don't blame this on you, okay? You weren't the one that told her you had to kiss that Gary guy."

"It's Greg," Lucas said.

"Whatever," Haley said. "She was hurting about her father leaving and she was drunk. She had already pissed you off, apparently, so she was looking for someway to get rid of all that pent up anger. Greg just happened to be single and somewhat cute. Then she saw Rachel shoving her tongue down your throat, got jealous, and wanted to make you jealous. Honestly, Lucas, you should be proud to know that you inspired that feeling in someone."

"You know that comment about you being by best friend? I take it back now," Lucas said.

"Oh get over yourself," Haley said rolling her eyes. "I found Peyton on the couch very much alone after you and Nathan left… apparently to go duke it out on the river court. Anyway, she said that she felt extremely guilty and wanted nothing more than to take it all back."

"So are you saying that I should just forgive her then?" Lucas asked. It was his turn to be incredulous.

'No. I'm saying that you should give her a fair chance and hear her side of the story," Haley said. "You might be surprised at what you hear."

"There's something else going on, too, isn't there?" Lucas asked.

"Yes," Haley said. "But I swore to Peyton that I'd let her tell you on her own terms."

"She's drunk, remember?" Lucas said. "She won't remember in the morning."

"Nope," Haley said. "Not happening."

"Please?" Lucas asked.

"No."

"I said please."

"There's a first time for everything. Honestly, I'm surprised that you haven't figured it out yourself. You must really be dense. Or clueless. I'm inclined to go with clueless."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Well, that's a way to get a girl to tell you what you want."

"Hales…"

"Fine. But you didn't hear it from me. Peyton's mad at you because, according to her, you two don't show that you love each other in public."

Lucas's jaw fell open in surprise. He had thought that she was okay without the PDA. He knew that she knew about Brooke and everything that had happened with him and her. He also thought that it was enough for Peyton. And he was trying to get better about it, he really was. He might not have been as casual about it as Stephen had been, but Lucas had some serious emotional scars when it came to those sorts of things.

"Wow. I don't think I've ever seen you speechless before," Haley commented. "That's amazing."

"I thought she was okay with the way things were," Lucas admitted his voice soft. "I never knew. I should have asked her what was going on instead of just going off on her like that."

"She'll forgive you," Haley assured him. "And I'm sure Nathan will too."

Lucas groaned.

"I am an idiot," he said burying his head in his arms again.

"Yep. You are," Haley said.

"Thanks, Hales," he said. "That makes me feel so much better."

"Two Tylenol and a hot shower would probably help you out more," Haley informed him. "Go. I'll make you a cup of hot tea or something as well."

"Thank you, Haley," he said this time meaning it. "You're a good friend, you know that?"

"I try," Haley said loftily. "And Luke? Don't be too hard on yourself. If I had seen the things you had, I probably would have reacted the same way."

"Thanks," he said again.

"Anytime," Haley replied.


	38. Chapter 35

**Disclaimer: I do not own _One Tree Hill_ or any of its characters.**

**Author's Note: Sorry that this update is late. I ended up sick on Sunday and Monday, so I was unable to write anything. This chatper was written in about half an hour, so excuse any mistakes.**

**Author's Note 2: This chapter doesn't really have any concept of time, but keep in mind that only the first two scenes overlap. The rest just kind of occur at random times during the morning. **

**Author's Note 3: Any one who guesses correctly who the mysterious creeper is at the end of the chapter gets a gold star!!! **

**Reviews are love!**

**Broken Hearts and Healing Minds**

**Chapter 35**

Nathan pulled himself up the stairs to the apartment early the next morning as the sun began to rise over the city. He wasn't sure what he was going to find, but a darkened, silent apartment with Haley sitting at the table in the kitchen did not make the top ten list.

She was alone, obviously exhausted, and nursing a huge mug of something. Sniffing the air, Nathan identified the substance to be peppermint tea, one of Lucas's favorite drinks. That meant that Lucas was around somewhere. Gentle snores emitting from the living room signaled his brother's whereabouts.

"Hey," Haley said tiredly as Nathan turned on the lights and walked over to the cabinet to grab a glass. "Do you want a cup of tea? I didn't do that bad of a job with it."

"No thanks," Nathan said frostily. The image of her and Tyler out on the quad the day prior was too vivid in his mind to be kind to her.

"So I take it that you believed Peyton," Haley said sadly.

"Was she right?" Nathan challenged.

"Do you not remember anything that I told you before you asked me to marry you?" Haley demanded incredulously. "About how I refuse to have sex before I marry someone? Just because I'm not with you does not mean that doesn't still apply."

"I--."

"Forget it," Haley said standing up. "I came here to make sure that Lucas was okay and now that I have, I'm going home."

Nathan felt like a jackass as the door slammed shut behind Haley, leaving him alone in the nearly empty apartment with nothing to do. He sighed heavily.

Then, the phone rang.

Startled by the sudden noise in the otherwise silent apartment, Nathan jumped up and grabbed the cordless phone off of the counter.

"Hello?" he asked.

_"This is dean of admissions at Duke University,"_ a low, clear masculine voice said. _"May I speak to Nathan Scott?"_

Nathan froze in surprise.

"This is he," he managed to get out.

_"Mr. Scott, I am pleased to inform you that we have once again revised our decision about your scholarship. If you agree to go to Duke, then you will have a full ride,_" the dean said.

"Are you serious?" Nathan demanded.

_"Yes, Mr. Scott, I'm quite serious,_" the dean said sounding amused. _"Didn't your brother tell you that he had called us?"_

Nathan vaguely remembered Lucas saying something about calling Duke and talking to them about re-extending Nathan's scholarship offer. It turned out that he had been successful.

"I wasn't expecting to be accepted," Nathan said honestly.

"_Well, you have been,_" the dean said. _"We will be sending you the information in the mail. Congratulations, Mr. Scott. You are now officially a Blue Devil._"

* * *

Lucas let out a groan as he forced his eyes open. His head ached and he felt like crap. There was no way he was going to be able to go to work that day. Then he remembered that he had taken the day off to spend the day with Peyton.

"Why do these things always happen to me?" he asked the empty room.

Receiving no answer from the blank walls, Lucas forced himself off of the couch, ignoring the sudden wave of dizziness and the accompanying throb in his head. He hoped there was still some Tylenol leftover in the cabinet in the kitchen.

"I wasn't expecting to be accepted," Nathan's surprised voice reached Lucas's ears as he pulled on a t-shirt and found a semi-pair of clean jeans.

"Thank you sir," Nathan said as Lucas emerged from the living room. "I won't let you down."

Lucas figured that it must have been the dean of admissions from Duke on the phone. He was glad for his brother and satisfied that all of his hard work with Nathan had paid off. Then he remembered what had happened at the party and all that pride went out the window.

Nathan was just hanging up the phone when Lucas entered the kitchen. The younger brother looked stunned as he turned around to face the elder.

"Hey," Nathan said quietly, obviously remembering the confrontation at the river court the evening before.

Lucas ignored him, going to the fridge and grabbing the orange juice and poured himself a glass.

"So this is how it's going to be, huh?" Nathan asked. "I don't do anything wrong, you get pissed because you think I do something wrong, you ask Dan to pay me off to leave, and you ignore me."

"I didn't ask Dan to pay you off," Lucas said astonished. "Why the hell would I want to do that?"

"You didn't ask Dan?" Nathan asked. "Then who did?"

"Dan is a bastard," Lucas said simply. "And what happened?"

"Why should I tell you? You won't believe me," Nathan said with a shrug.

"Don't you think I have a right not to believe you?" Lucas demanded. "You lied to me."

"I didn't about the party. I honestly didn't take the drugs," Nathan said.

"Excuse me if I have a hard time believing you," Lucas snapped as he rummaged around in the cabinet and found the half full bottle of Tylenol.

"Speak for yourself," Nathan said glaring at the two pills Lucas had in his hand. "How many of those of you been taking?"

"You try having a week long migraine and see where it takes you," Lucas snapped. "I haven't taken anything for kicks in years."

"Are you okay?" Nathan asked suddenly sympathetic.

"So you've finally come out of your _world revolves around me and everyone needs to focus only on me_ phase and have decided to acknowledge that the rest of us might have other things going on?" Lucas demanded as he swallowed the Tylenol and drained his orange juice.

"Lucas," Nathan began.

"I have to go," Lucas snapped. "Don't be here when I get back."

He turned around and stormed out of the apartment, not certain as to where he was heading, but knowing that he had to get out of there.

* * *

Peyton wished that someone would kill her. She had one hell of a hangover and remembered enough about the night before to know that she had messed up big time.

"Here."

Haley had to be some sort of angel, Peyton decided as she accepted the huge mug of coffee that the other girl was holding. It smelled amazing.

"Thank you," she said letting out a sigh of contentment as she swallowed the heavenly liquid.

"Stephen made it and said that you might want some," Haley said with a shrug. "It's not because I feel sorry for you. Hell, after last night, I'm not sure if I even like you."

"I'm sorry, Hales," Peyton said taking another drink of coffee and closing her eyes for a second.

"You don't get to be sorry after what you did to everyone last night," Haley said angrily. "You bitch out Lucas and Nathan before you go and make out with Greg Baker right in front of Lucas. Then you tell Nathan that I'm screwing Tyler and then you end up by yourself and need a ride home, where you tell me all the wonderful things you did. That was before you threw up all over my pillows and gave yourself a nasty knock when falling against the toilet. I was all for letting you fall in, but Brooke told me that I would hate myself later."

Something told Peyton that Haley probably wouldn't.

"I'm really, really sorry," Peyton said.

"I don't want to hear it," Halley snapped. "I just came in here to give you the damned coffee. Now that I have, I am leaving you here in my room, might I add, and going to find Lucas."

"Can you tell him that I am--?"

"If you say sorry one more time, I swear to god I will smack you," Haley threatened. "Brooke and Stephen are in the kitchen. If you need anything, ask them."

She turned around and stalked off, letting the door slam shut behind her. Peyton finished off her coffee before pulling the clean blankets up over her head and going back to sleep.

* * *

Stephen parked his car at the cemetery, resting his head on the steering wheel. He was exhausted, after having spent the entire night out and not getting any sleep. He had gone back to the apartment briefly to get himself a cup of coffee and drop Brooke off, only to discover all the damage the party had caused the night before. Now, he and Haley were looking for Lucas, who was MIA and Brooke was probably bitching Peyton out for being an idiot. No one was ready to deal with Nathan, because they didn't know what exactly had happened.

"I hate this town," Stephen muttered as he pulled his sweatshirt over his head and climbed out of the car.

The cemetery was quiet as he made his way through the rows of gravestones. Stephen could tell instantly that Lucas was there, but he was content to let the other teen have a moment or two of privacy. So Stephen sent a text message to Haley, letting her know that he had found Lucas and headed back toward the car.

"You're going to make a great CIA agent one of these days," Lucas said.

Stephen jumped. He wasn't expecting to be discovered that quickly. He turned back to face Lucas.

"You'd make a great one too," he returned. "You have this annoying ability to disappear at a moment's notice."

"I didn't exactly disappear," Lucas said. "You and Haley just blew things out of proportions."

"It was Haley's idea," Stephen said. "I just went along with it because Brooke asked me to."

"So you being the only person knowing that I might have a brain tumor had absolutely nothing to do with it?" Lucas asked looking faintly amused.

"It might have," Stephen said shrugging. "I talked to Doctor Richards yesterday afternoon. He said that he could schedule you an appointment with Dr. Branton some time this week if you wanted."

"Thanks," Lucas said. "I'll think about it."

There was a brief moment of awkward silence as Lucas looked at his mother's gravestone and Stephen stared listlessly off into space.

"Do you want to tell me what happened last night between you and Nathan?" Stephen asked after a while.

"I found him in one of the back rooms, surrounded by a few people I know are drug users," Lucas said. "He had a syringe in his pocket. I talked to him at the river court and he denied it."

"And you thought he was lying," Stephen concluded.

"I did," Lucas said. "I'm not sure if I do now."

"What changed?" Stephen asked.

"I had some time to think," Lucas said. "And now, I don't know. I might have been looking for a fight last night because of everything that happened with Peyton. And Dan apparently found Nathan at the river court last night and offered him as much money as he needed to get the hell out of Tree Hill."

"That's interesting," Stephen commented.

Stephen didn't know a whole lot about the elusive Dan Scott and all the things that happened in the Scott family, but he did know enough to realize that Dan doing anything to Nathan or to Lucas spelled out bad news for everyone involved.

"Yeah," Lucas said. "And after what I said this morning, he's probably going to take it."

"What did you do now?" Stephen asked.

Lucas didn't appreciate Stephen's attempt at humor. He glared stonily at the other teen.

"We got into yet another fight and I told him to go the hell away," he said. "I was pissed because he found me taking Tylenol for my headache."

"There's nothing wrong with that," Stephen disagreed.

Lucas shot him an annoyed glare, one that clearly said that Stephen was missing something important.

"There is if you overdosed on the same meds twice when you were fifteen," he said. "And if you had just accused your brother of being a drug user."

"You've been clean for what, three years now?" Stephen asked. "And he's been clean for three weeks. The odds are in your favor, man."

"Not really, not after some of the things that I told him a couple of weeks ago," Lucas said.

"What sorts of things?"

Stephen should have known that Lucas wasn't going to tell him. There were some things that no one shared with others outside of family.

"Doesn't matter," Lucas said looking away again. He sighed heavily. "I should probably go talk to Jeanette, see if I can get my shift back. God knows I need the money for all the medical bills."

"What happened to the loan Dan gave you?" Stephen asked.

"Heart surgery isn't exactly cheap," Lucas said. "And I like to be able to eat and have clean clothes every now and then. I'll see you later, Stephen."

"Bye," Stephen said as Lucas walked off. He wondered if there was something deeper he was missing.

Shrugging off the thought, he turned and headed back to his car. Too late, did he realize that there was someone else in the cemetery that day.


	39. Chapter 36

**Disclaimer: I do not own _One Tree Hill_ or any of its characters.**

**Author's Note: I don't really like this chapter because it starts to go into the realms of weird and OOCness, but I think the weirdness of this chapter is vital to the story. So please, do not hate me and do not call me a crazy nut for this chapter, okay? **

**Author's Note 2: The mysterious visitor in the cemetery was Keith, by the way. But Dan happens to know some things about Lucas. Keep that in mind when you're reading this chapter.**

**Reviews are love!**

**Broken Hearts and Healing Minds**

**Chapter 36**

Nathan suddenly felt as though everything made sense. Everything, from Lucas's behavior over the past few days to the way he had reacted the night before. The way Lucas had always been late to their practice sessions at the river court and how he always seemed exhausted and on edge—they were classic signs of Lucas hurting. Nathan couldn't believe he hadn't seen it before. Then again, he had been guilty of at least one thing Lucas had accused him of—Nathan hadn't exactly seen past his own guilt and emotions as of late. That made him feel twice as guilty for not realizing that something was wrong with Lucas.

"I am such a moron," he muttered to the empty apartment. Sighing heavily, Nathan got up from the island and went to take a shower. He was just pulling off his shirt when someone knocked on the front door.

Puzzled as to who it was—no one ever knocked in this town—Nathan pulled his shirt back on and went to answer the door. He wished he hadn't when Dan was standing on the other side, wearing a smug expression on his face.

"You don't take no for an answer, do you?" Nathan growled trying to close the door. The effort was made impossible when Dan stuck his foot in the door.

"You and I need to talk, Nathan," Dan said.

"I'm done talking to you," Nathan said. "I don't want your money. I'm not leaving Tree Hill. I haven't needed you in three years; I'm sure as hell not going to start needing you now."

"Yes, you made that very clear last night," Dan said looking vaguely… agitated. Nathan mentally shook his head. That couldn't be right. Dan was never agitated, about anything. Except for when he had tried to kill Lucas on more than one occasion, but that was a different story.

"Then what do you want?" Nathan asked.

"I heard some things this morning," Dan said somewhat cautiously. Nathan felt both annoyed and interested at the same time. The emotions warred within him.

"Dan, you hear all sorts of things," he said the annoyance winning the battle, probably due to the hangover he was sporting and lack of sleep.

"So Lucas does not have a brain tumor?"

Nathan felt as though a ton of bricks had just fallen on him. Was that what was wrong with Lucas? The older Scott brother had mentioned something about a week long migraine that had refused to go away. It made sense.

"No," Nathan lied boldly. "I don't know where you here these things and I don't really care to know. You need to leave. Now."

"You have no idea what's been going on with Lucas, do you?" Dan asked obviously not expecting an answer. "And you call me a lousy relative. You really take the cake, Nathan. Then again, you have always been the supporter of the phrase _ignorance is bliss_."

"I'm sorry, but I am having a hard time seeing as how this pertains to me," Nathan said. "Lucas is fine. He's just been stressed lately."

"Funny, you almost sound as though you believe that lie," Dan said shaking his head. "But then, if you tell yourself something over and over again, you'll eventually believe it to be true."

"You're just full of useless clichés lately, aren't you?" Nathan asked rhetorically. "Look, you need to leave. Lucas isn't here. He left a while ago and no, I have no idea where the hell he went."

"I'm not looking for Lucas," Dan corrected. "I was looking for you. I need you to get Lucas to get checked out by a doctor so we can be sure that this isn't something serious. He won't listen to me."

"I'm not going to listen to you either," Nathan pointed out. "He'll go when he's ready."

"It might be too late then. It might already be too late."

For the first time in Nathan's life, Dan looked _scared_. But that couldn't be true—Dan was never scared. It must have been the lack of sleep catching up to Nathan. His mind was playing tricks on him.

"What do you mean by that?" Nathan asked his curiosity and concern getting the better of him. "It might already be too late?"

"I never wanted to tell you two any of this," Dan said. "And I sure as hell didn't want to tell you like this. I hoped that your mother would still be alive if and when this ever became an issue. She's always so much better at breaking news then I am. Then again, I wish for all sorts of things and they never happen."

Nathan didn't bother pointing out that it was his father's own damn fault that nothing good happened. Dan knew where the blame lay.

"What are you talking about?" Nathan demanded.

"Lucas, developing what could be a brain tumor, it's not some random thing," Dan said. "Do you want to know the real reason why you never met my sister?"

"I thought it was because you were just an ass who broke things off when you went to college, seeing as that's how you ended all your other relationships," Nathan said bitingly.

He had heard rumors that Dan and Keith had had a younger sister once, but had never met her. Then again, Nathan had also heard rumors that Lucas was some sort of lesser god and could walk on water, which was actually more believable because the guy kept coming back from the dead.

"That's not entirely true," Dan said. "We did have a fight before I left, yes. She wanted me to stay with Karen and take care of Lucas, which looking back was probably the brighter thing to do."

"Yes, I know. I'm a horrible person," Nathan said rolling his eyes. "The apple doesn't fall far from the tree in that respect."

"Marie Scott died a few years ago," Dan said ignoring Nathan's sardonic comment. "She had a genetic brain tumor. No one ever knew until it was too late."

Nathan froze at his father's words, realizing the enormity of what Dan was trying to say. Lucas had a prideful and stubborn streak a mile wide. He hated admitting to the fact that he was hurting in anyway. But if Lucas did have this genetic brain tumor, then his stubbornness could kill him. He needed to get checked out. Nathan realized belatedly that he probably should too.

"I'll talk to him," Nathan promised suddenly feeling sorry for his father. He understood some of Dan's bitterness from all those years ago now. He also understood why Keith was in town the night of the accident.

"See that you do," Dan said briskly. He turned and walked down the stairs, leaving Nathan by himself.

He wasn't alone for long, though. A few seconds later, the door to Haley, Brooke and Stephen's apartment opened and Peyton walked out, looking as though she felt as shitty as Nathan did. He instantly forgot about everything that Dan had just told him.

"Hey," she said softly. "Is Lucas here?"

"I have no idea where the hell Lucas is at the moment," Nathan said grouchily.

Peyton sighed.

"I guess you heard about Greg," she said. "I wish for once someone would give me the benefit of the doubt here. I was wasted."

"What happened with you and Greg?" Nathan asked confused. "You didn't make out with him did you? Peyton!"

"I reiterate the fact that I was _wasted_," Peyton said. "And I was in a bitchy mood last night."

"Yeah, well, you weren't the only one who pissed Lucas off last night," Nathan muttered. "Come on in. We can have lunch and talk about how horrible we are."

"Sounds like a plan," Peyton said with the barest hints of a smile. "But only if you order pizza. I've seen the stuff you and Lucas call food. It's disgusting."

"That's more my fault than his," Nathan said apologetically as he opened the door wider and allowed her into the apartment. He noticed the slight flinch she gave when she walked by. He knew that it had absolutely nothing to do with him and everything to do with Ryan and Michael Greenberg's attack on her, Lucas, and Haley months ago.

"Oh," Peyton murmured stepping into the apartment. She turned back to face him as Nathan closed the door. "I'm sorry about what I said last night, by the way. I was absolutely horrible to you."

"Believe me, I have seen you worse," Nathan said. "You were really not that bad. And you were right, about most of it anyway. The Lucas thing you were probably wrong about and you were totally wrong about Haley, but the things you said about me… they were true, Peyton. I haven't been around much."

"I'm sorry for saying those things about Haley and Tyler," Peyton said. "And you've been a great friend. I—I was hurting last night because of what my father told me. I took it out on everyone, including Lucas and you. It wasn't fair and I am sorry."

"Lucas wasn't exactly a saint last night either," Nathan said. "He accused me of going back on my word that said I would kick that drug addiction."

"Did you?" Peyton asked bluntly.

Her question stung, but he knew that he deserved it.

"No," he said sighing heavily. "And I wish that he would believe me."

"He'll come around," Peyton promised reaching over and taking Nathan's hand. Squeezing it gently, she said, "He always does. It's just the weeks in between where he's always brooding that you have to worry about. I hear he's been known to break things."

"I shouldn't be surprised that he's pissed. Hell, I should be surprised that I'm still alive," Nathan said. "He didn't even yell. Well, he yelled a little bit. And I understand, I do, and I know that I haven't earned his trust or anything… but damn it, I just wish that he'd believe me when I am telling him the truth."

'You're just going to have to prove it to him, that's all," Peyton said softly.

"Funny, that's the same thing he said," Nathan said. "Now, do you want to tell me what's going on between you and Lucas?"

"Greg kissed me last night," Peyton said. "I had been drinking, he had been drinking, and Lucas wasn't around. Well, he was, but he was in one of those brooding, pissed off at the world moods because of some of the things I had said to him. Which is fair, I understand. I was flirting with Greg, knowing that Lucas was watching and hoping that he would get jealous enough to do something about it. I didn't expect it to escalate that far."

"Lucas hates being the center of attention," Nathan reminded her. "He was probably hoping that you would do something about it. It's either that or he was getting ready to kill the guy in his sleep. Honestly, if I were Greg, I would probably go into the witness protection program."

Peyton let out a sad laugh.

"I don't think Lucas is going to do anything to Greg," she said. "But anyway, Greg kissed me and I kind of let him. I was lonely, even though I knew Lucas would do anything for me. Will do anything for me, or at least, I hope that still stands. Anyway, when we pulled away, I went to apologize to Lucas, only to find him and that redhead… Rachel or whatever her name is, kissing him. I got jealous because I was drunk off my ass and decided that I wanted to make Lucas feel the same way. It was petty and low and I wish to god that I could take it all back."

"Lucas will forgive you," Nathan said softly. "He always does. You're just going to have to prove to him that it's him you want. And that means, not going around and kissing other guys."

"I'm a jackass, I know, I know," Peyton said. "Haley pretty much told me the same thing. She was in such a bitchy mood this morning and I don't understand why."

"That was probably my fault," Nathan admitted. "I pissed her off without actually trying."

"Wow. What did you do now?" Peyton asked amusedly.

"I asked her if she was screwing Tyler," Nathan said looking away in embarrassment. He realized now just how much of a jerk he had been to her. And she didn't deserve it, not after all the second chances she had given him.

"I'm sorry," Peyton said guiltily. "This is my fault. All of it. If I hadn't told you that she and Tyler were doing it, then she would still be madly in love with you."

"Yeah, well, you're forgiven," Nathan said. "I'll talk to Haley."

"Really?" Peyton asked looking relieved.

"Yeah. About the same time you talk to Lucas," Nathan said. Peyton stuck her tongue out at him.

"Fine. Then I'll go talk to Lucas right now," she said boldly.

"Okay. Go on then," Nathan said.

"We just ordered pizza," Peyton said. "And I'm kind of hungry."

"Coward," Nathan teased.

There was a knock on the door.

"Wow," Peyton said. "Someone who actually knocks in this town. Amazing. I didn't think such a person existed."

Nathan froze about halfway in between standing up and going to answer the door. Her words triggered the earlier conversation he had had with Dan.

"Crap," he said. "There's something I need to tell you."

* * *

Lucas shoved his hands in the pockets of his jeans and sighed as he walked back down the street, heading toward the river court. Jeanette had told him that she had closed the café for the day and therefore didn't need anyone to help out. He had really been looking forward to doing something that wasn't potentially destructive to his health for once.

He heard his name being called. Starting at the sound of that voice in particular, Lucas turned around, surprised to find Keith walking up to him.

"Keith!" he said in astonishment. "I thought you had gone back to Virginia!"

"One night in the cemetery can hardly be constituted as a visit," Keith disagreed. "I've decided that I'm going to be sticking around, at least for a little while. You know, make sure that brother of yours doesn't get into anymore trouble."

Lucas felt a surge of annoyance sweep over him. He loved Keith dearly, but the older man was suggesting that Lucas couldn't handle things himself.

"I can take care of that by myself," he returned. "Nathan's fine. He got a scholarship to Duke. He's not going to do anything to mess that up."

"I wasn't saying that you couldn't take care of things," Keith said. "God knows that you've done an amazing job of it over the past three years. But I also know that you're dealing with other things as well and I want to do anything I can to help you, Luke."

"Where have you been for the past three years?" Lucas challenged as he turned and started walking again. He didn't want to fight with Keith, at least not in public.

"I deserved that," Keith said. "And more. I'll take whatever you can dish out, son. But I heard you talking to that Burns kid out in the cemetery. And there are some things we need to talk about."

Lucas froze, suddenly unable to move. Not because of what Keith had said, because quite frankly, he hadn't exactly been listening. He froze because he recognized the two people crossing the street a few feet away. The two people also stopped when they saw him.

"Well, well, well," Michael Greenberg said. "It's about time I found you. Brandon and I here were looking all over for you. It's a damn shame that you didn't go to the river court this morning. We had a nice little surprise all laid out for you!"

"Lucas," Keith murmured. "Who are these people?"

"You don't recognize them? They're the people that were friends with Ryan," Lucas explained.

At the sound of Ryan's name, Keith visibly stiffened.

"I'm going to kill them," Keith muttered in Lucas's ear.

"You're going to have to get in line," Lucas said.

So much for not doing anything destructive to his health, he thought as his fingers curled into loose fists.

All hell was about to break loose when suddenly, two police cars drove by. One of them had the decency to stop.

"Is there a problem here, gentlemen?" a police officer asked as he rolled down the window.

"No sir," Michael said when Lucas merely glared stonily at them. "We're just having a friendly chat."

"Take it somewhere else," the police officer said. "You're disrupting the peace."

Sure enough, a small crowd had gathered on the outer edges of the sidewalk. Seeing the five men glaring at them, the crowd was quick to disband.

"I apologize, officer," Keith said speaking for the first time. "We were just leaving. Come on, Lucas."

Although there were many things Lucas would have liked to say, he decided to keep his mouth shut and follow Keith away from Michael and Brandon. There would be time to have that fight later.


	40. Chapter 37

**Disclaimer: I do not own _One Tree Hill_ or any of its characters.**

**Author's Note: This chapter has a little bit for everyone in it. I tried to bring all the characters together the best I could (or at least, all the teenaged characters; Dan and Keith don't really make an appearance in this chapter, except by name). There will probably be a time jump in the next chapter because frankly... I'm getting sick of writing about this one day in Tree Hill. I think it's time to move on to Monday, or heck, even Friday.**

**Author's Note 2: There will hopefully be another chapter up before Friday and another one on Friday, along with a Christmas present to all my faithful _One Tree Hill _readers and maybe one for my _Supernatural_ fans too. **

**Read and review, for reviews make the world go round!**

**Broken Hearts and Healing Minds**

**Chapter 37**

Lucas pulled himself up the apartment stairs, his mind spinning with everything that had happened over the past few hours. First, Keith told him that he had a dead aunt out there who had had a brain tumor that eventually killed her. Then Haley had found him at the river court and told him that she was leaving after graduation. She had said that there was no longer anything left for her in Tree Hill and that she couldn't stay any longer. After that, Stephen had arrived back in Tree Hill just in time for Lucas to nearly pass out after an excruciating headache. The other blonde had been kind enough to give Lucas a ride home.

"Hey, are you okay?"

Stephen stood at the bottom of the stairs, looking concerned. Lucas nodded once to tell the other teen that he would be fine, but he didn't make a move to climb to the top of the stairs. He knew that Nathan was still in the apartment and really didn't want to talk to him, not after everything that had happened between them and everything that Keith had told him.

"I'll be fine," he said. "I just need to sleep."

"If you're sure," Stephen said with a shrug. "I've got a date with Brooke. Call me if you need anything, okay?"

"Thanks, Stephen," Lucas said grateful for the one person he had managed not to piss off. "The offer works both ways, you know. If you need any help with anything… just let me know."

"I will," Stephen promised. "Get some sleep. I'll be out with Brooke. If you want to stay in our apartment, you can."

"Thanks," Lucas said again surprised by the offer. "I might take you up on that."

"You do that," Stephen said smiling. Lucas heard footsteps behind him and knew that the smile on Stephen's face wasn't for him.

"Hey, Brooke," Lucas greeted her. She looked infinitely happier then the last time he had seen her.

"Hey, Luke," Brooke said cheerfully. "How are you doing?"

"I'm good," Lucas lied. "Just dealing with some stuff. Have fun on your date."

Brooke smiled again.

"I'll see you later," she said.

"Bye," Lucas said as Brooke passed him on the stairs.

He sighed as he watched Brooke get into Stephen's car before turning around. Lucas felt his breath catch in his throat as the door to his apartment opened and Peyton walked out, her face tear stained and her eyes red rimmed.

"Lucas?" she asked her voice a soft whisper.

"Hey," he said hoarsely walking up the last couple of steps to meet her on the landing. "Are you okay? You look pretty upset."

"I'm fine," Peyton said folding her arms across her chest and staring at the ground. "What about you? Are you okay?"

She looked back at him again, her green eyes glowing with concern. For a moment, Lucas forgot the reason why he was supposed to be mad at her.

"I'll be fine," he said. "I'm just dealing with some stuff."

That seemed to become his new slogan as of late. It was what he had told Keith and what he had told Brooke.

"Did you know that had you have a dead aunt?" Peyton blurted out. "And apparently she had some rare form of genetic cancer?"

"Yes, actually," Lucas said. "How did you know about it?"

"Nathan told me. Dan told him a few hours ago," Peyton said looking away again. "Apparently, Dan has been stalking Nathan."

"He's trying to get Nathan to leave Tree Hill," Lucas said. "He offered Nathan whatever money he needed to leave Tree Hill last night at the river court. Nathan told him to go jump off a cliff."

"Good," Peyton said. "It's what, two months till graduation? And then he's going off to Duke, which he has you to thank. He can't leave."

"Your opinion of him seems to have changed since the last time I talked to you," Lucas commented keeping his voice indifferent. "You hated him for everything that he had done."

"We actually had a chance to talk," Peyton shrugged. "I realized that he is doing his best to get over this drug addiction and trying to move on with his life. Maybe you should give him a second chance."

"I have given him a second chance," Lucas pointed out. "He blew it."

"No, you blew it," Peyton corrected. "He didn't do anything wrong. You just blew everything out of proportion because you're pissed at me and you're hurting."

Lucas resented her for saying it so bluntly, but didn't say anything about it.

"As much as I love you, Peyton, my entire world doesn't revolve around you," he said instead, hating how harsh his voice was but unable to stop himself. "I wasn't just pissed because you were making out with Greg. Yeah, that might have been part of it, but my anger at Nathan's behavior is because of Nathan, not because of you."

"Lucas," Peyton began.

"You know, I don't really want to talk to you about this right now," he interrupted. "In fact, I don't really want to talk to you about anything at the moment. I know it's harsh and I'm sorry for that, but frankly Peyton, what you did last night hurt. A lot."

"I know, and I am so sorry," Peyton said.

"I know you are," Lucas said softly. "But I don't think that sorry is going to cut it this time. What you did and all the reasons why you did it… I'm not sure if I can forgive you so easily this time."

"Will you ever forgive me?" Peyton asked quietly.

"Eventually," Lucas said. "I love you too much not to forgive you. But I can't just let this one go, not after what you did with Ryan and now with Greg. I'm sorry if you hate me for it, but I need to know if I can trust you again."

"I don't hate you," Peyton said. "I could never hate you. And I truly am sorry for hurting you. I was wasted and I was pissed off at the world."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Lucas asked.

"No," Peyton said shaking her head. "I'm good now. But you should really talk to Nathan. I can wait. There are some things he needs to talk to you about and I think that he's feeling guilty."

"A little guilt will do him some good," Lucas muttered.

"He didn't use the drugs," Peyton said firmly. "He didn't even know that Michael and the others were in there until he got there. He was just leaving when you got there."

"I'll deal with his hurt feelings later," Lucas said. "Right now, I am in desperate need of sleep."

"You know, as much as I love you, there are still some things I don't get about you," Peyton said. "You fight like hell for something good to happen for Nathan and yet, you avoid him like the plague. You almost always listen to him except for now when you don't want to be wrong. It's kind of like how you claim you love me yet you never show it."

"Peyton," Lucas started.

"I know why you're uncomfortable with PDA and all," Peyton said. "And sometimes I get it. But Lucas, one of these days you're going to have to stop being scared."

"I'm not scared," Lucas disagreed.

"Yes, you are," Peyton replied. "You're scared that Nathan might be returning to his drug habits so you push him away so you won't get hurt the same way you did last time. You're scared that I'll betray you like Brooke did so you do everything in your power to make sure that won't happen. You are terrified of losing the people you love, but you push them away so they can't hurt you."

"Don't you think I have a right to be scared?" Lucas challenged.

"You do," Peyton agreed. "But everyone gets scared Lucas. I'm scared of losing you. I'm scared of losing my dad. But that doesn't mean I'm going to push you or him away just so I won't get hurt if anything does happen to you."

"Peyton," Lucas started again.

"I love you. I love you a lot and I didn't mean to hurt you the way I did with Greg. But damn it, pushing me away is just going to hurt you more in the long run. Sooner or later, you're going to have to stop running from your problems and face them or you're going to end up alone."

Peyton planted a swift kiss on his cheek before moving past him to walk down the stairs. Lucas had the distinct feeling that he should have gone after her, but he was too stunned to move. Her words were surprising for he never thought for a moment that he had been running from his problems.

"She's wrong," he told himself firmly. "She just doesn't understand."

But deep down, Lucas wondered if she was right. Maybe he was scared of losing everything so he just refused to let people in all the way. Maybe, just maybe, she did understand him better than he understood himself.

* * *

Nathan cut off the water when he heard the front door open. He knew that it had to be Lucas because he highly doubted Haley would come back to check on him. Peyton had left a little while ago to talk to her father about his moving to Norway. It was too soon for her to be back.

Sure enough, Lucas was sitting at the kitchen table when Nathan walked out of the bathroom. The older Scott brother looked lost in thought and obviously hadn't heard Nathan come out. It gave Nathan a chance to study Lucas.

His face was gaunt and his eyes had dark circles underneath him. Nathan wasn't sure if this was because his brother had a brain tumor or if it was because he had been running on little to no sleep over the past few weeks. Lucas had his head cocked to one side, a sure sign that he had a headache, but he also looked absolutely exhausted.

"Take a picture," Lucas rasped. "It will last longer and it will be a hell of a lot less creepy."

"I'm sorry," Nathan murmured. "You want some pizza? Peyton and I ordered it from that pizza place in town that you two like so much."

"I'm good," Lucas said. "I had some Chinese food with Keith."

"Keith's in town?" Nathan asked incredulously. "Since when?"

"You either have short term memory loss or you're totally dense," Lucas muttered. "You don't remember that conversation we had at the river court where I asked you why he knew about your problem sooner than I did? You know what? Never mind. It doesn't matter. Keith is in town, he wanted to talk to me, that was the end of it."

"Lucas," Nathan started. "Don't you think that you should go see someone about these headaches you've been having lately?"

"The ones you haven't been inclined to notice?" Lucas returned dryly. "I'm going on Friday before Tyler's party. Thanks for the concern, but I really don't need your help."

Nathan sighed heavily. He should have known that his efforts to try to repair the rift between he and Lucas would have gone in vain. Lucas wasn't exactly the forgiving type after all.

"What do I have to do to prove to you that I am not using again?" Nathan asked tiredly.

"I don't know," Lucas admitted. "There's probably nothing you can do about it."

"Luke," Nathan began.

"Look, you're my brother and I love you and everything, but honestly, there's nothing you can do," Lucas said. "Just stay with the training program, okay? Go after your dream. I'll deal with my own problems."

He left before Nathan had the chance to say anything else. Nathan sighed heavily.

"Why the hell does everyone have to deal with things on their own?" he muttered to the empty apartment as he pulled on his tennis shoes. "I swear to god, I'm going to get an inferiority complex if this keeps up."

Receiving know answer from the blank walls, Nathan found a semi-clean sweatshirt and pulled it on over his head before heading out the door. One of the side effects of the withdrawal was that he was almost always cold, even on warm days such as the one they were experiencing right now.

He was about halfway down the apartment stairs when he ran into Haley, who was on her way up.

"Hey," she said softly.

"Hey," he returned stopping and crossing his arms. They hadn't parted on the best of terms that morning.

"I'm sorry about this morning," they said at the exact same time. Haley blushed while Nathan looked away.

"I am sorry," she said. "I didn't mean to call you a jackass."

"I was acting like one," Nathan said. "I shouldn't have listened to Peyton like that. I know how she gets when she's drunk."

"I shouldn't have gone off like that," Haley said.

There was a brief moment of awkward silence.

"I was on my way to the river court," Nathan said. "And after that, I was going to find some dinner. Do you, I don't know, want to come with me?"

She looked shocked by the offer.

"I don't know," she said shyly. "Tyler wanted to hang out this evening."

"We haven't really spent any time together since I got out of the hospital," Nathan pointed out. "Come on, it will be fun. I promise, I won't go insinuating things about you and Tyler."

"Okay," Haley said slowly. "But just as friends."

"Friends," Nathan agreed. She smiled at him and he couldn't help but return the emotion.

"You know, it's been a while since it's just been the two of us," Haley said conversationally as they headed back down the stairs.

"Yeah, I think the last time was when Ryan tried to kill us all at the river court," Nathan said shuddering at the memory.

"And now, we're only eight weeks away from graduation," Haley said wistfully. "And we're probably not going to see each other very much after that."

"You're going to Stanford, aren't you?" Nathan asked. When she nodded, he added, "That's amazing, Hales. You will do great there."

He felt his own heart breaking at the thought of being so far away from her, but he figured that it was no longer his place to tell her that. She needed to live her own life and if that took her away from him, then that was fine. They would just have to find someway to make it work.

"Thanks," Haley said. "It means a lot for you to say that. Are you sure you couldn't, you know, get a scholarship there or something?"

Nathan was shocked by the question. Not only had he forgotten about the idea of his going with Haley to Stanford on a basketball scholarship, but it was also strange that she would ask that. He thought he had ruined any chance of a romantic relationship when he had used those drugs. Yes, she had said that she was still in love with him, but Nathan had never really thought that she had meant it.

"Probably not," he said. She looked downcast by his answer. "It's not that I don't want to," he added hastily. "But I was honestly lucky that Lucas was able to get my scholarship back to Duke."

"You're going to Duke?" Haley asked looking pleasantly surprised. "That's amazing! When did you find out?"

"Right after you left," Nathan said. "I was going to call you, but I got sidetracked doing other things and I wasn't sure if you wanted me to call."

"Well, at least I found out about it this soon," Haley said sounding slightly amused. "Most Scotts don't deem it necessary to tell me anything unless something really bad is going to happen to them."

"I take it you've heard about Lucas," Nathan said.

They had reached the river court. He picked up a basketball while Haley sat down on the picnic table.

"Yeah, he told me about the whole dead aunt thing," Haley said. "That's just weird that they chose now of all times to reveal that."

"They?" Nathan echoed confused.

"Keith and Dan," Haley said. "Dan was the one who told Keith in the first place."

"Oh," Nathan said feeling stupid for jumping to conclusions that Lucas was hiding things from him again.

"Yeah," Haley said. "It's weird that Dan, Keith, and Lucas are all capable of civil conversations around each other. Who would have thought?"

"Certainly not me," Nathan agreed as he sank a perfect free shot.

"It's weird, though," Haley said. "Why did they decide tell Lucas and you now? What's the difference between telling you that you have a dead aunt now versus last year or years ago?"

"It might be because Lucas might have a brain tumor," Nathan said.

"What?" Haley demanded looking shocked.

"You didn't hear about that?" Nathan asked as he sunk another perfect free throw. "I thought he was trying to be more honest with people nowadays. Guess I was wrong. Anyway, Lucas has been having these migraines lately. Everyone he's told has been worried that he might have a brain tumor. He's going in on Friday to get checked out."

"He could have a brain tumor?" she whispered. "How is that possible?"

"Dead aunt," Nathan said shrugging as he performed a perfect lay up. "She died of a brain tumor. No one knew about it until it was too late."

"That's horrible!" Haley exclaimed. "He's going to a doctor, right?"

"He said he's going on Friday before Tyler's party. Not sure if I believe him, but I'm not exactly going to start making accusations about him either. God knows that he has enough to deal with without me yelling at him over things he's probably telling the truth about."

"In his defense, he did have every right to ask you about that. You haven't been clean for very long and he's just worried about you. He doesn't want you to make the same mistakes he did."

"I know that Hales, but damn it, he needs to trust me."

"Would you trust him if he had beaten you to a pulp and left you for dead at the river court after nearly killing me with a car?"

Nathan let his silence speak for him. There really wasn't anything he could say to that anyway. She was right and she knew it, as did he.

"I know where he's coming from. I do; I've been there. But I didn't realize just how damn annoying this is."

"Give him time. He'll come around."

"That's what everyone keeps saying. But I'm not sure if we have time, Hales. Graduation is only eight weeks away. Everyone is leaving after that. He's going off to UNC, I'm going off to Duke, you're going to Stanford… Peyton's leaving for Savannah. We don't have time. And I think he has less than anyone else."


	41. Chapter 38

**Disclaimer: I do not own _One Tree Hill _or any of its characters.**

**Author's Note: This chapter is out sooner than I expected. It has enough in it to become two chapters, but I didn't feel like trying to piece everything together so it would be two chapters... so you just get an extended chapter.**

**Author's Note 2: Once again, this has a little something for everyone (except for Dan and Keith lovers... which I don't think there are all that many). It's probably a little confusing in parts, but hopefully, not too bad.**

**Author's Note 3: Flashbacks are in itallics. There will be two more chapters before an author's note. Then... probably the last round of chapters before the sequel. I don't know. Maybe there will be twenty more. Have a nice even sixty for both stories. Maybe. One can wish.**

**Read and review please!!**

**Broken Hearts and Healing Minds**

**Chapter 38**

What was it about rap music and the god damn annoying bass that seemed to match the throbbing in his head? He vowed to himself as he stepped out of Stephen's car that he would never again listen to rap music. Not that he ever spent much time listening to rap music before now, but Lucas swore that he would never listen to the god awful crap that couldn't even be considered music ever again.

"Dude, relax," Stephen said as he held the door open for Brooke. "You look like you're about to… never mind. I was going to say undergo brain surgery, but since you are, it's probably not all that amusing."

"Thanks for the concern," Lucas snapped before sighing.

_Lucas fiddled nervously with his hands as he waited for Dr. Branton to come back with the test results. He would never admit it to anyone, but he was terrified what she would say. _

_He started when the door opened and the tall, blonde doctor walked in. She smiled slightly at his reaction._

_"I'm sorry," she said. "I didn't mean to startle you."_

_"I'm fine," Lucas said looking away. He had never been all that comfortable with doctors, especially ones that would tell him bad news. And she had bad news written all over her face. _

_"I would like to begin this… meeting by saying that you have every right to be scared or nervous," Dr. Branton said. "Do not feel that you are not allowed to be anxious about what is going to happen. It's a frightening thing."_

_"So you're saying that I have a brain tumor," Lucas said softly, hating how his voice shook. He knew that he probably did, ever since Keith had told him about his aunt._

_"I'm sorry," she said again. "I know how hard this must be for you."_

_Lucas could barely contain a scoff. She had no idea. None at all. After all, it wasn't like she was the one who had to deal with the actual pain involved with the brain tumor. She didn't have to deal with the fallout that this knowledge would cause the people he cared about. All she had to do was sit there, look sympathetic, and try her hardest not to seem bored while his life fell apart. _

_"You have no idea," he muttered hoping that she didn't hear him. _

_"You have several options, though," Dr. Branton said a harder edge creeping into her voice. "We caught this early enough. You are lucky, you probably won't have to undergo chemotherapy."_

_"Probably?" Lucas echoed. He had heard stories about what the process used to treat cancer did to other people. How it made them weak and sick. He shuddered at the thought of being that vulnerable. _

_"You can choose that option," Dr. Branton said. "Or you could choose to have the tumor surgically removed. It has its risks, like most surgeries, but if the operation is successful, then you won't have to deal with all the side effects of chemotherapy. You will be in remission. And provided the tumor doesn't grow back, you will be able to live a long, happy life." _

The doctor's appointment earlier that day had really set him on edge and he wasn't dealing with it as well as he would have liked. Hell, most people who knew him would probably accuse him of not dealing with it at all.

"Luke," Stephen started. "You'll be fine. You can survive anything. Plus, you heard what Branton said. If you get the surgery now, you won't die."

"Like you said, I can already survive anything," Lucas quipped. "Why should I get the brain surgery if I can survive anything?"

"That's not what I meant and you know it," Stephen said. "Honestly, I don't know why you're so terrified about this. Do you want to die?"

"I _want_ to get through this night without getting punched, yelled at, or watching my girlfriend make out with someone I don't even know," Lucas said. "Believe me, dying is not on my to-do list. Or my Christmas list for that matter. And I will go through the surgery."

"Peyton will be glad to hear that," Stephen said. "And thank you again for coming tonight. Tyler considers you one of his friends now. He'll appreciate your coming."

"Yeah, yeah, you just want someone to be able to drive you home," Lucas said rolling his eyes.

"No, that's why I brought Brooke," Stephen said grinning at the brunette who merely rolled her eyes. "I fully intend for you not to be in the car at all when I decide to go home. You are going to spend tonight making up with Peyton and playing nice with Nathan."

"I did my good deed of the week by getting him into Duke," Lucas muttered petulantly. "Why should I do anything else?"

"Because a new week's about to begin," Stephen said. "There he is now. Go, talk to him. Tell him that you're not going to die in the next six months. He'll be thrilled."

"You've been watching way too much _Oprah_," Lucas said firmly.

"It was either her or _Dr. Phil_," Stephen said with a shrug. "And believe me, _Dr. Phil_ is overrated. The guy seriously shouldn't be on television for family help and crap. He divorced his wife for Christ's sake."

"Here's an idea," Lucas said sarcastically. "Why don't you run your own talk show? You could make millions!"

"I think I rather be a CIA agent," Stephen said. "Much more exciting. And I have great credentials. If anyone met you and found out that you said I'd make a great agent, they'd let me in instantly."

Lucas rolled his eyes as they walked to the river court. He unconsciously stopped as he caught sight of _her_.

"It's amazing how he does that," Brooke said from somewhere far away.

"What?" Stephen asked sounding confused.

"How he finds her before he finds anyone else, even in a crowd," Brooke said. "It's also slightly creepy."

"More than slightly," Stephen said. "It's borderline stalker."

Lucas ignored them.

"I'll meet you guys later," he said.

"If you do, you're walking home!" Stephen called as Lucas let himself be drawn into the crowd.

* * *

Peyton flipped through the crates full of records absently, looking for one that she knew well and liked. She felt a gentle hand tap her on the shoulder and turned, expecting Lucas. She was highly disappointed when it was Greg.

"Hey," he said looking slightly embarrassed. "Someone told me that you were by yourself. Do you mind if I keep you company?"

"Talk about horrible pick up lines," Peyton said. "I'm good. Really."

"It's funny, I don't remember you being such a bitch when I was making out with you at Vaughn's party last week," Greg said.

"I was drunk," Peyton said with a shrug. "I didn't know what I was doing."

"Some would say that you liked what I did," Greg said. He took a step closer. "I know you want me, Sawyer."

"I do not want you," Peyton protested. "I have a boyfriend."

"Really?" Greg asked looking amused. "Then where the hell is he?"

Peyton was about to respond when she realized that Lucas was once again mysteriously absent from the scene.

"Right here," Lucas's soft voice said from behind Peyton.

She turned, not expecting him to have been there. She didn't even get a chance to see his face before his lips met hers.

It was an intense kiss, one full of longing and passion. Peyton never wanted it to end.

"Is this public enough for you?" Lucas whispered as they broke apart, gasping for air.

Peyton was too surprised by his bold move to say anything. She heard Greg growl something under his breath behind her and then walk away.

"This is perfect," she whispered. "Would you mind doing it again?"

Lucas smirked before complying. It was another mind numbing, bone melting kiss.

"I love you," he whispered. "And I wanted to show everyone else that you are mine."

"I love you too," she said. "And I'm sorry for being such a bitch."

"It's okay," Lucas murmured resting his forehead against hers. "You were right. I do need to stop being so scared all the time."

"I'm always right," Peyton said coyly. "You just don't seem to realize it."

"I'm starting to," Lucas said smiling. He kissed her again, this time softly and gently. "There are some things I need to take care of right now. I'll meet you back at the apartment?"

"Sure," Peyton said. She pulled his arm when he turned to walk away. "But before you go…"

He smiled wider before kissing her one last time.

"I love you," he whispered before melting into the crowd.

* * *

Haley smiled softly as Tyler walked up to her, carrying two cans of soda and a bag of chips. He had a broad grin on his face, one that made his eyes light up like twin sapphires. He was so cute, she noted, but in a safe, non dangerous way.

"Hey," he said. "I brought you your favorite. Sprite and Sun Chips. Harvest cheddar, right?"

Haley laughed sadly.

"How am I ever going to function when you're not here?" she asked sighing mock dramatically.

"You'll survive," Tyler said seriously. "You have Nathan. And I'm coming back for graduation. I told you that, remember?"

_Haley fell into step beside Tyler as they navigated the crowded school hallways on their way to their next class. They had almost all their classes together, because Tyler was extremely bright._

_"Hey," he said smiling as they walked into the classroom. "Are you going to the party tomorrow?"_

_"You're not supposed to know about that," Haley said in annoyance. "Who told you?"_

_"Relax," Tyler said putting an arm casually around her shoulder. "I overheard Stephen and you talking when I came over last night to talk to Stephen about… things."_

_"Am I ever going to learn the mystery behind what you two talk about?" Haley asked. _

_"No," Tyler said smirking at her scowl. "It's nothing life threatening or anything. Just guy stuff."_

_"Hmph," Haley said. "Well, since you are leaving the day after tomorrow, then I guess I can't be too upset with you."_

_She fought to keep her voice even, but knew that Tyler saw right through it. _

_"It's going to be okay, Haley," he said drawing her into a hug. "I'll only be a couple of hours away. I'll still have a phone. You can call me if you need anything."_

_"I'm going to miss you," she whispered burying her face in his shoulder to hide her tears. "Even if in eight weeks we'd be leaving anyway, I'm still going to miss you."_

_"I'm going to miss you too, Hales," Tyler said leading her to their seats. "But I'll make you a promise: I'll be at your graduation. I'll listen to your valedictorian speech."_

_"Provided Stephen doesn't beat me out," Haley muttered petulantly as they sat down._

_"Don't worry, he won't," Tyler promised. "I'll beat him up if he does."_

_Haley let out a sad chuckle._

_"You will really be there?" she asked hating how pathetic she sounded. _

_"I will," Tyler said. "I don't care if I have to fight an entire army to be there. I will be at your graduation."_

"I still can't believe that tomorrow, you're going to be gone," Haley said. "And I can't help but feel that it's my fault."

"We've been over this, Hales," Tyler said setting the snack items down. "It's not your fault. It could never be your fault."

"If I hadn't gone with Lucas that day," Haley protested.

"I can't fault you for looking after your best friend," Tyler said. "No one can. My mom is just way too overprotective."

"That's not necessarily a bad thing," Haley said quietly. "I can't even remember the last time I had a decent conversation with my mother."

Tears stung the back of her eyes. The song changed from a heavy rap song to a song Haley knew well—_I Will Remember You_ by Sarah MacLachlan and Shania Twain. A few tears escaped as Tyler offered her his hand.

"Do you mind if I have this dance?" he asked.

"Certainly," she said softly allowing him to lead her on to the middle of the river court.

* * *

Nathan barely glanced up as Lucas walked over to him, carrying a bag of chips and a couple of sodas. He couldn't take his eyes off of Tyler and Haley as they swayed to the beat of the song in the middle of the court.

"Hey," the elder Scott said. "You know, I just got called a stalker for being able to find Peyton in the middle of a crowd without actually looking. You could get arrested for the drooling you're doing now."

"What do you want?" Nathan asked tiredly looking away from Haley and Tyler briefly to meet Lucas's gaze. He was actually shocked to find dark circles underneath his brother's eyes and a squinted look that signaled Lucas was in pain.

"I wanted to tell you that I had a doctor's appointment earlier today," Lucas said as he sat down next to Nathan and opened a bag of chips. "They told me it was a tumor."

"What?"

Nathan felt as though he had been kicked in the stomach. His brother had cancer. How the hell was that fair? Lucas had never done anything wrong and yet he got dealt the worst cards imaginable.

"Yeah, I couldn't believe it either," Lucas said. "Though it makes sense. I got the damn heart condition, why not get the freaking cancer too?"

If Nathan didn't know Lucas so well, he would have missed the slight catch in his brother's voice that alerted Nathan to how terrified Lucas really was about this. He had heard it often over the past few months, with the heart surgery and the drug addiction they both had to deal with.

"Luke," Nathan said trailing off when he realized that he had absolutely nothing to say.

"Yeah, I know," Lucas said knowing exactly what Nathan was trying to say. "And believe me, I wasn't expecting this either. I was hoping for once that I didn't have some massive problem that requires extensive surgery and billions of dollars to fix."

"Surgery?" Nathan echoed with a touch of hope.

"Brain surgery," Lucas said grimacing. "Why is it that every time I hear that I think of that weird movie where the characters get downsized and sent into a person's body? I don't think that even had anything to do with brain surgery."

"You actually paid attention in health," Nathan commented in shocked disbelief. "That's amazing. I didn't think anyone ever paid attention during that class."

"That was before I met Peyton," Lucas admitted. "And obviously, you paid attention too or otherwise you wouldn't know what the hell I was talking about."

"I hate to break it to you, but I rarely have any idea as to what the hell you're talking about," Nathan said a smirk playing at his lips.

"You know what I'm talking about most of the time," Lucas disagreed looking slightly put out.

"I would if you actually talked," Nathan retorted. "But you never talk. You just grunt."

"Do not," Lucas said rolling his eyes. He winced.

"Sorry," Nathan murmured instantly feeling guilty.

"Don't be," Lucas said rubbing his temples. "It's just a side effect of the damn tumor. No eye rolling, no rap music, no crazy assed brothers screaming at me in the middle of thunderstorms…"

_Thunder rolled and lightning streaked across the sky as Nathan walked onto the river court. He knew that it was stupid to be out in what looked like was going to be a tempest, but he needed to be alone._

_Only he wasn't alone. There was someone already on the river court, shooting baskets. By the way the basketball hit the basket every single time, no matter what angle the person shot from, Nathan knew instantly that it was Lucas._

_"Hey," he called over the loud thunder. "What are you doing here?"_

_"I could ask you the same thing!" Lucas retorted as he took another shot. _

_Nathan couldn't help but remember the last time they had been here in a thunderstorm. He shuddered at the thought, hoping this time wouldn't end as badly. _

_"You're pissed at me and I get it," Nathan shouted. "But if you tell me one more time that I'm going to have to just wait until you deem it necessary to believe me, then I swear to god I will punch you!"_

_Lucas didn't say anything. He shot another basket and then went to retrieve the ball. Nathan had had enough of being ignored by Lucas, so he grabbed the orange rubber before Lucas could._

_"Say something, damn it!" he shouted angrily. _

_"What the hell do you want me to say?" Lucas replied just as angrily. "You already seem to know everything I am going to say and you're not going to listen to me anyway, so why the hell should I talk to you?" _

_"Funny, that's what I was going to say to you!" Nathan retorted. _

_"I do listen to you, Nathan! I just have a hard time believing you when you act suspiciously."_

_"Who are you, the cops? You're supposed to be on my side!"_

_"I am on your side, Nate. I don't want you to ruin your life!" _

_They stood there for a few minutes, glaring at each other. Then Lucas looked away, which surprised Nathan. Usually it was he that lost the staring contests. Not Lucas._

_"Nathan, I want to trust you," Lucas said. "I want to believe you because you're my brother and I owe it to you. But damn it, you nearly killed Peyton. You nearly killed Haley. I thought I could forgive and forget, but I don't think it's that easy."_

_"You don't think or you don't want to try?" Nathan asked his voice void of emotion. He surprised himself—usually it was Lucas who was great at hiding his emotions behind a blank wall. _

_"Nate," Lucas began. _

_"You say a lot when you keep your mouth shut," Nathan said. "It's fine. I get it. But you should know that I trusted you, even after all the shit you put everyone through when we were fourteen. Remember that."_

_He turned and left, knowing that he wouldn't be getting any peace and quiet at the river court._

Nathan sighed.

"I'm sorry about that," he said. "But I was getting so sick of you not believing me when I told you that I wasn't taking those damn drugs."

"I know," Lucas said looking faintly amused. "And I think after that I did believe you. Mostly."

"But you still don't?" Nathan challenged softly.

"Do you believe me when I tell you that I'm not using Tylenol or any other pain killer as a way to deal with my problems?" Lucas countered.

"Yes," Nathan said instantly.

"Then you're a better man then I could ever be," Lucas said. "I'll see you around."

"Luke," Nathan began.

"I'll see you later," Lucas said. He disappeared into the crowd before Nathan could say anything else.


	42. Chapter 39

**Disclaimer: I do not own _One Tree Hill_ or any of its characters.**

**Author's Note: I suck at writing fight scenes. Keep that in mind as you read this chapter and try not to be too harsh on me.**

**Author's Note 2: One more chapter before the author's note. **

**Author's Note 3: Try not to hate me for the end of this chapter. But you can hate me all you want for the next one because it's going to be intense. I promise. Hehehehehehe. **

**Author's Note 4: Celebrate! This is what... the third or fourth update in two days? You guys must be loving this while all the while chanting _go, go, go_! I'll make you a deal: keep reviewing and I will keep updating this fast. With any luck, we will have the entire story finished by New Years! Woot! And then, onto the sequel and the final story in this saga. More information about that coming up in the author's note.**

**Broken Hearts and Healing Minds**

**Chapter 39**

_I will remember you_

_Will you remember me? _

The lyrics of the song washed over Haley as she and Tyler revolved in a small circle in the middle of the river court. She knew everyone was watching the two of them, but she couldn't bring herself to care. Even though she was in love with someone else, Haley was going to miss Tyler intensely.

"You know, Hales, things are going to be okay," Tyler said. "You'll be graduating in a few weeks and then going off to Stanford. I know I've said this a lot, but you'll survive without me."

"I know," Haley said smiling slightly as Tyler pretended to get offended. "But I have lost so many people I care about that it's hard to imagine losing someone else too."

"You're never going to lose me," Tyler promised. "I am always going to be a phone call away. But you know, sooner or later, you were going to have to say good-bye to me. I can't be Nathan. And you know that."

"I never asked you to be Nathan for me," Haley said. "I never wanted you to be Nathan. I needed someone who wasn't Nathan, who wasn't so wrapped up in mysterious layers that I couldn't understand what was going on half the time. I needed someone safe and honest, someone like you."

"You've never needed me, Hales," Tyler said sadly. "I've always been the one needing you. You, you were doing just fine before I came along."

"I'm sorry," Haley said softly.

"Don't be. I'm not," Tyler said. "And I'm not even the least bit jealous. In fact, the fact that you still love Nathan, even after everything you've been through, it gives the rest of us hope."

"What do you mean?" Haley asked.

"Not all of us can have epic love stories," Tyler said. "Not like you and Nathan or Lucas and Peyton. But seeing the four of you, so happy and in love, or not happy because you're apart from each other… I don't know. It makes the rest of us feel like maybe there's someone out there for us."

"There is, Tyler," Haley said. "Any girl would be lucky to have you. You're smart, you're funny, you're honest and you're not all that bad to look at either."

Tyler smiled at her faint attempt at humor.

"Thanks," he said.

"For what?" Haley asked.

"For believing in me," he said shrugging. "For being you. For staying with me even after Nathan told you that he was in love with you. I know that must have been hard for you because I know that you feel the same way about him. So, thanks."

"You don't have to thank me," Haley disagreed. "It should be me thanking you."

"For what?" he asked with a faint smile that didn't reach his eyes.

"For asking me out," Haley said. "For staying with me after all the crap you've had to put up with. For not being jealous of Nathan when I know other guys would be. Just… thanks for everything. You saved my life and I don't think that you even realized it."

She reached up and gently pressed her lips to his. It wasn't anything like the kisses she and Nathan had shared where the sparks flew and mountains moved and all, but it was nice. It was safe. And Haley realized that that was something she no longer needed.

* * *

Lucas was trying to find Peyton again so they could resume their conversation from earlier. Since his life was forced into perspective once again by Dr. Branton, Lucas realized that there were worse things in life than watching a drunken kiss that obviously didn't mean anything. Besides, he thought as he pushed through the crowd to get to the DJ table, it's not like she is a psychotic murderer with a gang of thugs that followed him around.

Speaking of… Lucas stopped dead as he realized that Michael and a couple of other people were standing on the edge of the river court, staring at him. Shivers ran up his spine as he caught the glint of a switchblade disappearing into someone's pocket.

"This can't be good," he muttered to himself.

He had half a mind to just turn around and find Peyton later, but Lucas had a feeling that these goons wouldn't be going away any time soon. Hell, knowing what Ryan had been capable of, if Michael didn't get Lucas _now_, Lucas would end up paying for it later by watching someone he loved get hurt. And he didn't want to do that, not so soon after he had just gotten everyone he loved _back_.

"Well, well," Michael said as Lucas walked over to them. A voice in the back of his head that sounded suspiciously like Stephen warned him to get out of there, to find help. Lucas, per usual, ignored it. It was potentially, at the very least, not a good idea.

"I see you've graduated from just standing there and looking like an idiot to talking and sounding like an idiot," Lucas said casually.

Rule number one in fighting people bigger than one's self: run away. If that was not possible, then refer to rule number two: do not insult the people bigger than one's self, for that usually ends up bad for one's self. And if someone was a complete dunce and broke rules number one and two, that left rule number 3: impress everyone with an awesome sarcastic comment and pray to God that whoever was bigger left one's self alone. When none of the above worked… well, Lucas was about to find out.

"You think you're so funny because you won a state championship in basketball," Michael sneered. "You think you're the king of Tree Hill."

"And I thought I had self-centered issues," Lucas said. "Seriously, what the hell do you want? If you want to torment me, you're going to have to get in line. There are people out there a hell of a lot bigger and meaner than you that want to kill me."

"Really?" Michael asked raising an eyebrow in amusement.

"Well, maybe not _bigger_, because frankly, I think you take the cake on that one," Lucas said. "And speaking of, you do realize that it's just sugar and eggs, right? It's not like, cooked love. You could do to lay off them."

He barely had time to duck out of the way as Michael swung his fist. Lucas was forcibly reminded of the day where he had rescued Nathan from the drug dealers. He prayed that this wouldn't end nearly as badly. Hopefully, he would avoid yet another trip to the doctor.

He was about to suggest that they move to a friendlier location where someone would call the cops if Michael tried something when two burly arms reached out and wrapped around his middle. Lucas let out a shout of surprise when someone knocked his already aching head. He saw stars and then everything went black.

* * *

Nathan could have sworn he heard yelling. Maybe it was because he was becoming paranoid from spending too much time by himself or maybe it was because he had been in too many bad things lately, but he would have readily promised anyone anything that he had heard yelling. And possibly the sound of flesh hitting flesh, but he wasn't positive. But one thing he was certain of was that Lucas was somehow involved. He didn't know how he knew, but he knew.

Nathan searched the crowd and found the person he was looking for standing by a cooler full of drinks. He quickly left his somewhat secluded spot and cut through the crowds of people, all the while cursing popular people.

"Hey," Stephen said as Nathan walked up. "You look like Lucas does when he's about to go punch someone. Who is he and what does he have to do with Haley?"

It took Nathan a moment to realize that Stephen was joking.

"Look, I think I heard someone fighting and I wasn't about to go inspect it by myself," Nathan said.

"And you think that Lucas is involved and is somehow going to land himself in the hospital as a result of it," Stephen concluded darkly. He sighed. "You Scotts are all alike with your hero/martyr complex—always so quick to save someone even if it means sacrificing yourself in the process. Oh well. You're in luck. I have the same complex, only to a slightly lesser extent. Let me get Tyler."

"He's busy," Nathan said gruffly looking toward where Haley and Tyler were kissing in the middle of the river court.

"Jealous much?" Stephen muttered. "Come on then. Let's go see if your sixth sense is correct."

Nathan appreciated the fact that Stephen didn't instantly dismiss him as crazy or overprotective the way most people would have. He also really liked the fact that Stephen didn't start questioning him either. If it weren't so late in the school year and Nathan wasn't so worried about other things, he might have been able to be friends with Stephen at one point. But not now.

The sounds of fighting intensified as soon as Stephen and Nathan left the well lit and crowded court. They seemed to be coming from the right side, near the parking lot.

"You killed my best friend!"

Nathan might not have been in the fights Lucas had been in concerning Ryan, but he knew that voice well enough. His blood froze in his veins as he broke into a run, wanting to reach Lucas before anything could happen to his brother.

"I didn't kill him," Lucas said as Nathan came around one of the cars and skidded to a stop. "He drowned in the river."

Lucas was shoved up against one car by a tall, burly looking boy that Nathan recognized as Michael. There was another boy behind him, taller, bigger and uglier than Michael, which was saying something.

"I don't want to hear excuses," Michael snapped as he brought back his meaty fist and slammed it into Lucas's nose.

"Hey!" Nathan shouted drawing Michael's attention away from Lucas, who was now nursing a bloody nose.

"Nate, don't!" Lucas yelled as a third teen made an appearance. He wasn't nearly as tall or as ugly as the other two, but he sure as hell was huge.

"Oh shit," Nathan whispered as Stephen joined him. "This is not good."

* * *

Peyton made one last lap around the river court, frustrated when she realized that none of the departing people were magically going to turn into Lucas and offer to take her home. That would have been perfect and the world lived to make sure Peyton's life was not perfect.

She spotted Haley and Tyler putting some empty cans into a garbage can. Hoping that they would know where Lucas, and by extension Stephen and Nathan disappeared to, she made her way over to them. She was about halfway there when the sound of yelling and flesh on flesh caught her attention.

Apparently, Peyton wasn't the only one who noticed either. Haley and Tyler both froze, exchanging startled glances, before turning in the direction of the voices.

"…Get off me!" someone's shout sounded faintly in the direction of the departing cars.

"That sounded like Stephen!" Tyler said his eyes widening.

"Damn it! Nathan, look out!"

"Oh my god!" Peyton and Haley said together.

No one wasted any time in abandoning their trash collecting duties and running to the place where the voices were coming from.

Peyton froze in horror as the three of them came around a car and saw a full out brawl going on. It was four on three, with Lucas, Stephen, and Nathan on the losing side.

"Haley, call 9-1-1!" Tyler shouted as he jumped into the fray, pulling a huge teenager off of Stephen and giving him a good sucker punch to the nose. The goon went down with a howl.

Lucas was attempting fend off someone Peyton recognized at once to be Michael. He was receiving more blows than he was giving. Peyton's heart lurched and she was about to go help him when Stephen somehow stumbled over and pulled Michael off of Lucas.

"Get out of here," Stephen shouted to Lucas. "Tyler and I've got it."

Lucas looked like he was about to protest when he saw Peyton. His blue eyes widened in fear. Peyton barely had time to wonder what the hell happened before something hard struck her in the back of the head and the ground rushed up to meet her in the face.


	43. Chapter 40

**Disclaimer: I do not own _One Tree Hill_ or any of its characters.**

**Author's Note: I'm not too sure about this chapter because I had a lot of issues writing it. Be honest when you tell me what you think!!**

**Author's Note 2: There will be an author's note for the next chapter before the next round (possibly the last) of chapters. Hope you guys aren't bored yet.**

**Author's Note 3: Anyone who is a _Dashboard Confessional _fan and hasn't checked out their new CD, I highly advise you to do just that. It is awesome!!!**

**Merry Christmas to all those that celebrate! It's almost 2010!! **

**Broken Hearts and Healing Minds**

**Chapter 40**

Lucas was in a serious amount of pain. He was fairly certain that he had at least two cracked, if not broken ribs, he knew he was going to wind up with a concussion, and his knee was once again throbbing.

_Why is it always the god damn knee?_' he wondered. _Every single fucking time they go for the knee. Don't they know that the knee is kind of important for the whole walking thing?_

Any other sarcastic comments whirling around his brain instantly disappeared when Michael shoved him up against a car.

"You will pay for what you did to Ryan," he whispered in Lucas's ear.

"Dude, get a breath mint," Lucas retorted kicking out with his good leg and connecting to Michael's stomach. Michael instantly let him go, though Lucas knew it was more out of surprise then anything else.

"Do you not care about what you did?" Michael demanded. "You killed your own brother for crying out loud and yet you still stand here and talk about it like it's not a big deal."

"It isn't because I didn't kill him," Lucas said firmly, backing away as Michael reached his hand into his pocket. He knew exactly what was in that pocket and had no desire to be the target for that.

"Scared?" Michael asked looking amused. "Good. Because you're going to pay. And I'm going to enjoy watching the terror in your eyes."

"Think again."

Lucas barely had time to react as Stephen plowed into Michael and shoved the other to the ground.

"Get out of here," Stephen shouted. "Tyler and I've got it."

Lucas instantly bristled. He didn't like it when other people felt the need to clean up his mess. He was about to help Stephen punch Michael to death when something caught his eye. A familiar green gaze locked with his just as someone Lucas didn't know knocked Peyton out.

"NO!" Lucas screamed forgetting all about Stephen and the fact that he was in serious pain. He reacted instinctively, closing the gap between him, an unconscious Peyton, and Peyton's attacker almost instantly.

"You bastard!" Lucas shouted letting his fists sink into soft flesh. He heard a grunt of pain as he lashed out with his good foot and connected with the other's knee cap.

"Gerrof me!" Peyton's attacker grunted shoving upward with all his might.

Lucas wasn't expecting the sudden movement and felt himself flying through the air. He connected with the ground with a hard _thud_ and his breath was knocked out of him.

"Lucas!"

Nathan's concerned voice stole Lucas's attention away from Peyton's attacker, giving the other teen time to escape. Lucas swore violently as he pulled himself to his feet and looked around.

"Take it easy," Stephen said placing a gentle hand on Lucas's shoulder as the world spun alarmingly.

"I'm okay," Lucas said shaking off Stephen's hand. "I'm going to kill him."

"We have to get Peyton to the hospital," Stephen said. "She probably has a concussion and we need to get her checked out. You should get yourself looked at, too, Luke."

"I think she's starting to come around!"

Tyler's frantic voice broke through the red haze that Lucas had fallen into. Ignoring Stephen's offer of help, Lucas stumbled over to where Tyler was crouching beside Peyton.

"Be careful," Tyler cautioned. "He broke the skin with the 2x4. I don't want to move her."

Lucas swallowed hard around the lump that had grown in the back of his throat. This was his fault. All of it. He could have prevented this by just walking away, but no. He had to go and be the idiotic hero.

"Is she okay?" Nathan asked hoarsely crouching down beside Lucas and Tyler. Haley hovered behind him while Stephen was calling someone on his cell phone.

"She'll be okay," Tyler said confidently, though his eyes betrayed him. He was worried. Head injuries weren't anything to mess around with.

Thankfully, Peyton seemed to have a guardian angel watching over her. A few seconds before sirens filled the air, her eyes opened.

"Peyton?" Lucas whispered.

"Hey," Peyton murmured looking confused and disoriented. "What happened? Why is your nose bleeding?"

Lucas didn't get the chance to answer as paramedics swarmed the scene. Two instantly got to work checking to see how serious Peyton's head wound was while the others checked out everyone else.

"You need to get those ribs looked at," an older paramedic informed Lucas. "I think one or more of them might be cracked. You don't want them to break."

"I can take care of it," Lucas said firmly, refusing to let on as to how bad he really felt. His head was killing him and his knee was sore as hell. His ribs were the least of his worries at the moment.

"I know you hate hospitals, but seriously kid, you need to get these ribs looked at," the paramedic said his voice just as firm as Lucas's. "Look, if you promise to go to the hospital and get those looked at, I won't make you ride in the ambulance, okay?"

Lucas didn't really want to get checked out by a doctor for the second time that day, but he nodded anyway, knowing that sedatives were apart of the med kit and the paramedic probably wouldn't hesitate before knocking him out.

"I'll drive you," Tyler offered coming up as the paramedic walked off. "Stephen is going to tell Brooke the bad news and Haley's going with Nathan because he is in pretty bad shape."

Lucas started at the news. He had thought his brother was fine. Nathan had seemed fine. What was wrong with him?

"What?" Lucas got out, hating how weak his voice was.

"He—Michael… Nathan has some pretty bad bruises on his throat," Tyler said looking down at the ground.

It took Lucas a moment to process what exactly that meant and when he did, it was all that Tyler could do to keep Lucas from going to find Michael and kill the bastard.

"Let me go, Tyler," Lucas said icily.

"You need to get to the hospital," Tyler said softly. "We can find Michael later, after you've been looked at. Okay?"

"No," Lucas said. "It's not okay. Michael hurt my brother. He needs to pay."

"And he will," Tyler said. "But for now, it's no use getting killed. It's eight weeks until graduation. Peyton's hurt and she needs you right now. Nathan is going to need you too. If you won't go to the hospital for you, then at least go for them."

Lucas felt his anger slowly fade out of him as Tyler's words began to take root in his mind. He sighed, realizing that Tyler was right. He had no clue where Michael was and he sure as hell didn't want to get his ass handed to him for a second time that evening. He wasn't so sure that he would survive if he did.

"All right," Lucas said heavily. "I'm driving though."

"No dice," Tyler said grinning. "I've seen the way you drive. It's a freaking miracle that you're still alive."

Lucas merely rolled his eyes, wincing. Tyler caught the grimace.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Haven't you heard?" Lucas asked dryly. "I cracked my ribs."

"Rolling your eyes doesn't hurt your ribs," Tyler said. "What's up?"

Lucas realized then that Stephen was a great friend. The other blonde had kept Lucas's secret when Lucas had asked, even keeping the information from Tyler. It was amazing and something that Lucas hadn't expected.

"There's something I need to tell you," he said. "And since you're leaving tomorrow, it's not really that big of a deal if you know."

* * *

Haley was anxiously pacing the waiting room of Tree Hill Memorial, taking a look at the clock every so often. She hated being the only one there to wait for news. She wished Tyler was there. Scratch that. She wanted Nathan.

The double doors leading to the exam rooms opened. Haley felt her breath catch as she waited impatiently for Nathan and was highly disappointed when she realized that it was Peyton.

"Hey," she said plastering on a fake smile for her friend. Haley felt horrible about the fact that Peyton had been hurt, because the blonde girl had been standing right next to her at the time. The first thought through Haley's head was _I'm glad that wasn't me_ and she felt extremely guilty about that.

"You look like you're the one that has been put on four different pain killers," Peyton said laughing once before sitting down next to Haley. "Any news about Nate?"

Haley shook her head closing her eyes for a moment to hide her tears.

"Nothing," she said. "I didn't even know he was hurt until someone pointed it out to me. I'm a horrible person."

"You are not a horrible person," Peyton disagreed. "If it makes you feel better, I didn't either."

Haley let out one sad laugh.

"You at least have an excuse," she said. "You were kind of unconscious."

"Yeah," Peyton said reaching up and touching the back of her head. She winced.

"How are you feeling?" Haley asked feeling guilty once again as she realized that she had neglected her friend duties.

"It's a little sore," Peyton admitted. "Dr. Richards said that I'm going to have to take it easy for a while and to have someone wake me up every hour when I finally go to sleep. He also said no contact sports and no using my head for batting practice for a while."

Haley laughed again, feeling a little bit better now that she knew that Peyton was going to be okay.

"I'm glad you're all right," she said. "And I'm sorry that you got hurt."

"It's not your fault," Peyton said wrapping an arm around Haley's shoulders in a friendly hug. "We're all going to be okay. This isn't nearly as bad as the last time."

Haley let out a bitter laugh, one that she knew Peyton would understand.

"Our lives are messed up," she said. "We have the life people only see on TV. You know the ones with the mobs always after them and such."

"But you would totally be bored if it was any other way," Peyton said teasingly. "Admit it, you love it."

"Some days," Haley admitted. "Other days, not so much."

"That's just life in general," Peyton said with a shrug. "Some days are better than others. You just have to learn to pick up the pieces and keep going through the rough ones."

"Thanks, Peyton," Haley said softly just as Tyler walked in. He looked pissed and upset.

"Did you know that Lucas has a brain tumor?" he demanded.

* * *

Lucas winced as Dr. Richards pressed a butterfly bandage to the cut on his forehead. It stung like crazy, but Lucas knew he was getting off easy. He could have been getting stitches and that would have been twice as worse.

"So what happened to you all this time?" Dr. Richards asked conversationally as he put the butterfly bandages away and got out the box of ace bandages.

"We were at Tyler's going away party," Lucas said grimacing as he stretched out his injured knee so the doctor could wrap it. "I was looking for Peyton when Michael Greenberg found me. He wanted to know why I killed Ryan. Nathan and Stephen found me and then things just… I don't know, escalated from there."

"They usually do around you," Dr. Richards said looking faintly amused. "There. I'm finished. You're good to go. I don't want to see you back in here before your next doctor's appointment. It's next Friday afternoon, isn't it?"

"How did you know that?" Lucas asked as he grabbed his button up shirt. He was thankful he had asked for Haley's fashion advice—he didn't want to attempt pulling anything over his head at the moment.

"As your main physician, I'm privy to all sorts of gossip about you," Dr. Richards said as he wrote something down on his clipboard. "And it helps that Stephen visited his mother after baseball practice this afternoon. I wanted to thank you, by the way."

"For what?" Lucas asked bemused.

"You were there for Stephen when Kayla died," Dr. Richards said. "You got through to him in a way none of the rest of us could. He really respects you for that. As do I, which is why this doctor's visit is free."

"I can't accept that," Lucas said shocked. "That's too much. I was just trying to be a friend. Honestly, I'll pay you."

"Relax," Dr. Richards said placing a gentle hand on Lucas's shoulder. "It's fine. Don't worry about paying me, because honestly, I'm not going to accept it. You're eighteen, Lucas. You're graduating in a few weeks and then you're going to undergo brain surgery after that. You have your whole life to worry about paying for doctor visits. Let me handle this one."

Not wanting to disrespect Dr. Richards and stunned by the offer, Lucas merely nodded his head.

"Thank you," he said softly. "For everything."

Dr. Richards was about to say something in reply when alarms suddenly started going off.

"Code blue room 387. Code blue room 387," the loudspeaker blared.

"Damn it," Dr. Richards said looking anxiously at the door. "You need to go to the waiting room now, son."

"What's going on?" Lucas demanded.

"That's your brother's room," Dr. Richards said heavily. "He just went into respiratory arrest."


	44. Author's Note 4

**Author's Note 3:**

**Note:**

**So. Forty chapters later and almost to the finish line. I would like to say thank you to everyone for getting this story this far and for all the reviews. Almost to two hundred!! You all are awesome and I can't thank you enough for sticking with this story, even when I was an absentee author. Hopefully, I haven't disappointed anyone recently. **

**As you all know, there is definitely going to be a sequel called _Shattered Remains_. I revealed in the last author's note that there was going to be a major character death in the story. I lied. There are going to be two. One takes place before the story begins, but through flashbacks the death is revealed. It is going to be one sad story, but hopefully, it will end nicely. I already have it all planned out, so the chapters shouldn't take all that long to write. As I also said in the last author's note, the story will take place ten years in the future and will take place in the new bar (TRIC) and the river court, if that gives you any indication as to what's going to come. **

**Get comfortable and get your fingers ready to type some more awesome reviews because I plan on finishing this story and starting the third and final story of this insanely long trilogy very soon.**

**Cause For Celebration: **

**I think the cause for celebration this time around is that it only took me a grand total of two weeks to get to chapter 40 from the last author's note. I thank you all for that, because I that much for you! Hope you've enjoyed the ride! It's almost over! (Sad, but also cause for celebration because that means the sequel can finally be started).**

**The Scoop:**

**In the last chapter I mentioned that Lucas won't be having his tumor removed until after he has graduated from high school. I would like to mention that this story is going to end on their graduation day, so you won't get to read about the surgery. Sorry. **

**For the most part, these past ten chapters have been about Lucas and Stephen. Does anyone else like Stephen as much as me now? He reminds me a lot of Julian from the show. Hope everyone likes him, because he's going to become a permanent fixture in the gang's life from now on. **

**Tyler is leaving. Yay for Naley! **

**And as for the cliffhanger at the end of the last chapter... I'm not giving away any spoilers as to whether Nathan lives or dies. You're just going to have to tune in for the next chapter (which should be up sometime within the next few days).**

**Comments and Concerns:**

**I would like to thank RJMoonspell4 and Lostand1treehillfan for being such great reviewers! You both are amazing. **

**Songs:**

**_Will You Remember Me_ by Sarah MacLaughlin and Shania Twain was mentioned as Tyler/Haley's song. I thought it was fitting, seeing as Tyler is leaving and all.**

**Questions:**

**Astonishingly enough, I have no questions for anyone! It's amazing. I think this is the first time ever I have not asked you all a billion questions. **

**Extra Stuff:**

**I would like to put a general rule on just about all of my stories (there are only two exceptions to the rule thus far and those were _ODOPOSOR _and _My Sundown). _That rule is 'everything will be okay in the end. If it's not okay, then it's not the end.' Keep that in mind when reading this story and reading the sequel to this story. **

**Until the next chapter,**

**Scott Winchester 22 3**


	45. Chapter 41

**Disclaimer: I do not own _One Tree Hill _or any of its characters.**

**Author's Note: Do not hate me for the first part of this chapter. Do not give up on this story because of this chapter. Keep reading to the end of this chapter. I promise, you will understand. **

**Author's Note 2: Sorry for the delay in this chapter. I hated the first version of this chapter and so I didn't write for about a week. Then, this afternoon I just sat down and wrote this in about half an hour. So excuse any mistakes and enjoy the chapter. **

**Broken Hearts and Healing Minds**

**Chapter 41**

Lucas never would have guessed that it would have been Nathan who was sent to an early grave. If he had had to bet, he would have said it would have been he, due to all the near death experiences he had had in his lifetime. But Nathan ended up being the one put into the ground one rainy day two weeks after Tyler's going away party and Lucas knew there was no one to blame except his own self.

He stood a little ways away from the rest of Nathan's gathered friends and remaining family. Lucas had no desire to mingle with them and see the pity in their eyes, especially not after the huge blowout he and Peyton had had the day before. She blamed him wholly for Nathan's death and Lucas couldn't help but think that she was right. If he hadn't been so cavalier with his own life, if he had just learned to walk away from a fight, then Nathan would never have been strangled and Lucas would have had the chance to apologize to his brother for all the things that he had said. Lucas wanted nothing more now then to just see Nathan again, even if it meant the youngest Scott brother punching him. Lucas more than deserved it.

"Nathan Scott was a beloved son and brother," the priest said. "He was strong and courageous. He had his battles, like every man, but faced them and defeated his enemies. He will be missed by many and loved by all who knew him."

There was a heartfelt sob coming from one of the members of the gathered crowd and Lucas didn't even have to look to know that it was Haley. He felt a pang of guilt and heartbreak go through him. His best friend was hurting and it was his fault. All of this, the pain and suffering that these people he claimed to care about were going through… the blame rested on his own shoulders.

A gentle hand rested on his shoulder. Lucas started, not expecting anyone to have found him so quickly. He turned and was equally surprised to find Peyton standing there, tears staining her face. Lucas was captivated by her beauty. She wore a simple black dress, but she looked absolutely stunning. Her green eyes shone with tears and guilt.

"Hey," she said softly. "How are you doing?"

Lucas shrugged and turned away, the words from their fight earlier running through his head. He couldn't bring himself to believe that he had really told her that he had hated her.

"Lucas," Peyton said gently but forcefully turning his head to look at her. "I need you to talk to me."

"I can't," he said looking down at his feet. "I can't. Not when there's nothing to say other than I am sorry. I didn't mean what I said yesterday."

"I know that," Peyton said. "And I'm not mad."

"You're not?" Lucas asked quirking an eyebrow and looking in her eyes for the first time. He shook his head. "Yes, you are."

"Luke," Peyton began. Lucas shook her hand off.

"It doesn't matter," he said. "I don't blame you. It wasn't your fault."

"It wasn't yours either, Lucas," Peyton said.

"Yes, it was," Lucas said letting guilt color his otherwise expressionless tone. "And nothing you can do or say will convince me otherwise."

"You didn't kill Nathan!" Peyton said passionately.

"I may not have been the one that strangled him, but I may as well have been," Lucas said. "If I had just learned to walk away, then he would still be here. Haley wouldn't be standing there crying her eyes out. You and I would be okay. None of this," he waved wildly at the funeral, "None of this would be happening."

"Do you really believe that?" Peyton asked incredulously. "Do you really believe that any of this is your fault?"

"It doesn't matter if I believe it," Lucas said looking away again. "It's the truth. And I can't hide from it."

"Lucas," Peyton said helplessly. "None of us blame you."

"You should," Lucas said. "But it really doesn't matter anyway if you blame me or not. Hell, I'm not going to be around long enough for any of you to grow to hate me."

"What are you saying?" Peyton demanded obviously shocked.

"I'm saying that I'm going to leave Tree Hill," Lucas said clenching his hands. He felt his heart shatter into a million pieces when he saw the devastated look on her face.

"Running from your problems isn't going to solve anything," she said reaching out and resting her hand on his shoulder. "You need to stay here, Lucas!"

"Why? What's left here for me? All I have in this town is bad memories, Peyton! My mother _died_ here. I watched both of my brothers die. My father abused me and was quick to abandon me. My best friend is out of reach because of everything I have done."

"What about _me_?" Peyton asked tears sliding down her face. "Am I just another bad memory for you?"

"Peyton," Lucas started.

"I thought I meant more to you then that," Peyton cried. "I thought you loved me."

"I do," Lucas protested. "This has nothing to do with you. I need to get out of here. I need to get away from Tree Hill."

"Let me come with you," she said. "Please, Luke."

"No," Lucas said looking away again as tears stung the back of his eyes. "I can't. Where I am going is no place for you. I need you to stay here, to look after Haley for me."

"I can't do that, Lucas," Peyton said suddenly fierce. "I need to be with you."

"You don't mean that," Lucas said shaking his head. "I'm a menace to everyone I love. Look at what happened to Nathan and my mother. Hell, look what happened to Ryan."

"None of those things were your fault!" Peyton shouted. "None of them! What happened to your mother and to Nathan were accidents! Ryan deserved to die. He tried to kill me and Nate and _you_!"

"I wish he had succeeded," Lucas said bitterly.

"You can't mean that," Peyton whispered. "You can't."

"I can't?" Lucas demanded harshly. "Well, let me tell you something Peyton, I do mean that. I wish that Ryan had killed me that day at the river court because it sure as hell would have been a relief from all the hell I've had to go through since."

"Lucas," Peyton started.

"I'm leaving Tree Hill, Peyton," Lucas said through clenched teeth. He hated himself for what he was about to do. "And I don't want you to come with me. I don't want you following me, for if you do, I swear to God that I will disappear to somewhere you will never find me. Can't you see, Peyton? I don't love you anymore. I can't love you. And I have to leave Tree Hill before I suffocate."

"Lucas," Peyton began again tears pouring down her face. "You can't mean that."

"I do," Lucas said coldly as his heart broke into tiny pieces and faded away as he forced himself to glare at her. "I don't love you. I don't think that I ever did. Good-bye, Peyton."

With that, he turned around and stiffly walked away, ignoring her heart broken sobs that increased in volume the further away he got.

"LUCAS!"

* * *

Lucas's eyes flew open and he started up with a gasp. He blinked, trying to figure out where he was as pain flooded through him. His chest was suddenly killing him and his knee felt as though it was on fire.

Bowing his head, he concentrated on taking deep, even breaths, breathing through the pain. He felt a wave of relief as the pain began to recede and his surroundings came into focus.

He was sitting in a darkened hospital room in a highly uncomfortable hospital chair. Nathan was sleeping in the hospital bed, the heart beat monitor beeping steadily, proving the fact that Nathan was very much alive. Lucas felt tears of enormous relief sting the back of his eyes as he realized the horrible funeral followed by his leaving Peyton had all been an extremely vivid nightmare.

A clock on the wall showed that it was nearly six o'clock in the morning. Lucas slowly felt his memories return to him. He remembered walking to the waiting room in a haze to an irate Haley and Tyler to tell them that Nathan had gone into respiratory arrest. He also vaguely remembered Peyton hugging him tightly and telling him that she was sorry for ever kissing Greg and that she loved him.

The doctor had come out not long after that and told them that Nathan was okay and that he could have visitors. Haley had gone first. Tyler had to go home to finish his packing, leaving Peyton and Lucas alone together for the first time in a week. After making sure she was okay, they had spent nearly two and a half hours just talking about Lucas's doctor's visits. Peyton had been scared as hell when Lucas told her what had happened, but Lucas assured her that he was going to be okay. She had gone home not long after that when Stephen and Brooke showed up at the hospital to check on Nathan. Haley had left as well, leaving Lucas alone at the hospital with Nathan. That had been merely six hours ago.

Nathan had been asleep when Lucas had come in, leaving the older Scott on his own. Lucas must have fallen asleep not long after that, for everything else was a blank.

"Lucas?"

Nathan's raspy voice broke Lucas's journey down memory lane. Lucas blinked and looked at Nathan, both surprised and extremely relieved to see his brother very much alive and looking confused.

"Hey," Lucas said softly blinking back the wave of emotion that washed over him. "How are you feeling?"

"Okay, I guess," Nathan croaked. "A little thirsty."

Lucas handed him a glass of water that was sitting on the small table next to the hospital bed.

"I'm sorry," Lucas confessed when Nathan was finished with the water.

"For what?" Nathan asked looking even more confused.

"Everything," Lucas said looking away. He found a loose thread on the hospital blanket and started picking at it.

"Luke, none of this was your fault," Nathan said. "Well, your being an idiot is completely your fault. What were you thinking taking on those bastards by yourself?"

"I wasn't," Lucas admitted. "But that's not what I'm talking about. Well, not all of it."

"Dude, I'm not Peyton and my head hurts like hell," Nathan said bluntly. "What are you talking about?"

"I should have believed you when you said that you weren't taking those drugs," Lucas said. "But I didn't because I'm a moron."

"I don't blame you," Nathan said. "Honestly, I don't. You had every right not to believe me. Hell, when situations were reversed, I didn't exactly believe you either. I know it's going to take time for you to trust me again. But I'm curious, why the sudden change of heart?"

Lucas looked away, unwilling to tell Nathan about the nightmare. He knew it was stupid, especially when they had just had a fight about trusting each other, but he could bring himself to.

"I'm sorry," he said again, ignoring Nathan's look of annoyance. "I wish this could all just go away, but it won't."

"I know that," Nathan said. "I also know that hiding from your problems isn't going to help."

"I'm not hiding from my problems," Lucas protested.

"Yes you are," Nathan said tiredly. "But you know what? It doesn't matter. I guess I just have this tendency to get pissed off when things don't go my way that I take out on every one else. I think I get that from a certain older brother of mine."

"Who, me?" Lucas asked in mock surprise. "No. It must be your other older brother."

"Lucas, despite the fact that Ryan might have been related by blood, you're my only brother," Nathan said firmly.

"Wow, we sound like a couple of girls right about now," Lucas said laughing once and wincing when it hurt.

"Yeah," Nathan said smirking. "Guess Haley and Peyton must be talking about cars, beer, and sex."

"You're funny," Lucas said rolling his eyes, groaning when it made his head hurt.

"Are you okay?" Nathan asked concernedly.

"I'm fine," Lucas said blinking and trying to clear his vision. "Just wasn't expecting that to happen at six thirty in the morning."

"Lucas," Nathan began.

"I'm fine," Lucas said plastering on a fake smile. "Really. It's just a headache."

"Yeah, right," Nathan muttered. He sighed. "Sorry. I know that you have a lot going on and I'm just being a pain in the ass."

"Well, you are a little brother," Lucas said with a shrug. "It does come with the job description. Everything will be okay, Nate. I promise. And you know me, I never go back on my promises."

"I think this is one promise I'm going to force you to keep," Nathan said. "Because if you're not okay, I honestly don't know what any of us would do."

"Probably throw a party," Lucas said forcing a smile on to his face.

"That's not funny, Luke," Nathan snapped.

"Sorry," Lucas said. "Honestly, though, everything will be just fine, Nate. You don't have to worry about this."

"We lost our aunt to this exact same cancer, Lucas," Nathan said quietly. "I don't want to lose you too. Not when I just got you back as my brother."


	46. Chapter 42

**Disclaimer: I do not own _One Tree Hill_ or any of its characters. **

**Author's Note: Sorry about the delay in updates, my fellow readers. I don't have any excuses--I just kind of got sidetracked for a while and didn't write anything. Sorry!**

**Author's Note 2: This chapter is kind of random. It starts out all hunky dory with nice descriptions and then... it just kind of gets weird. I did manage to find some semblence of a plot in it though, so it's not totally wasted. And before you get confused (because believe me, you probably will) the last Lucas POV is a dream sequence. Not saying anything else, but keep that in mind as you're reading this. **

**Author's Note 3: For these next few chapters, I'm going to follow a similar story-line as what _Nightmares_ is going to be, only this one is going to be the watered down, less intense version. I will start posting _Nightmares _when I finish this story just so you all know.**

**Author's Note 4: I know. You all just want to read this chapter and want me to shut up so you can, but I would just like to say thanks to everyone who has read and reviewed this story. It means a lot! **

**Broken Hearts and Healing Minds**

**Chapter 42**

The house was impressive looking. It lay on the top of a huge, emerald green lawn and had beautiful trees lining the drive. There was a huge black SUV parked in the driveway. Peyton ignored all of this as she stormed up the steps to the house and pounded on the door.

A super-model skinny redhead opened the door, her perfectly waxed eyebrows raised in confusion and annoyance. Peyton glared at her right before she raised her fist up and punched the girl in the face.

* * *

Lucas didn't care that he was interrupting track practice. He didn't care that he looked extremely out of place in his dark jeans and navy blue shirt as he stormed up to the boy in shorts and a wife beater. He also didn't care that Coach Robertson was standing right next to the boy as he drew his fist back and punched the boy in the face.

* * *

Nathan checked the time once again as he waited for Haley to arrive so they could head down to the small café for breakfast. She was over an hour late. He checked his cell phone for messages, surprised when he actually had two and highly disappointed when he realized neither one of them were from Haley.

_"Hey, Nate,"_ Lucas's somewhat guilty voice sounded over the phone. _"Could you possibly come pick me up? I'm in jail. I'll explain when you get here."_

Nathan barely had time to process the fact that his brother was in _jail_ when the second message started playing.

_"Hi, Nathan,"_ Peyton's slightly abashed voice said. _"I normally wouldn't call you about this. Usually, I would call Lucas, but he's not answering his cell phone and my dad's out of town. Stephen has baseball practice. Anyway. I'm at the hospital. I just broke my hand. Could you come pick me up? I'll explain when you get here."_

Nathan closed the phone and stared at in shocked amusement. He grabbed the car keys from the kitchen counter and then headed out of the apartment.

"My friends are idiots," he muttered as he started the car and peeled out of the parking lot.

* * *

Haley carried the last of the cardboard boxes out of the empty house and down the steps. Tyler was waiting for her by his mother's SUV. He looked extremely sad as Haley shoved the cardboard box into the back of the car and closed the trunk.

"Hey, why are you looking so glum?" she asked placing a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"This is the only home I've ever known," Tyler said sadly. "And now, with only a few weeks left till graduation, I have to leave it. How fair is that?"

"It's not," Haley said. "And I'm really sorry you're leaving. But hey, you're not going to be that far away. I'll visit you every chance I get."

"Don't," Tyler said.

Haley recoiled, shocked.

"Why not?" she demanded. "Don't you want me to come see you?"

"Of course I do," Tyler said. "But I also know that you have a life here. And as much as you care about me, I know that you have someone here that you care about more. You should spend what little time you have left with Nathan. Don't worry about me. I'll survive in the big city by myself."

"I can't believe you're leaving," Haley said. "You've only been apart of my life for a short time, but I feel like I've known you for years. I don't want you to go."

"I don't want to go either. But it will be better for all of us this way," Tyler said. "You'll finally be able to be with Nathan and I will be able to move on with my life."

"I'm sorry that I couldn't be more to you," Haley said. "You are a great guy. Any girl will be lucky to have you."

"It's not your fault, Hales," Tyler said ruffling her hair fondly. "The heart wants what it wants. I'm just glad that I got to spend the time that I did with you. It's clear that Nathan is a lucky guy. If he does anything to hurt you, let me know."

"Good-bye, Tyler," Haley said pressing her lips gently to his cheek as his mother came out of the house.

"Good-bye, Haley James," Tyler said. "I'll be at your graduation. I promise."

"You better," Haley said taking a couple of steps away from him so he couldn't see her tears.

She could feel his eyes on her as she turned around and started walking. She wanted desperately to ask him to stay, but that wouldn't be fair to him. He needed to move on with his life and so did she. They would miss each other, yes, but things would be better this way.

That's what Haley told herself anyway.

* * *

Lucas was antsy. He hadn't felt this alive in years. He couldn't believe what punching someone in the face would do for him. Granted his hand hurt like hell and he was lucky that Greg wasn't pressing charges, but Lucas didn't care.

Or at least, not until he got out of his cell and found Nathan and Peyton waiting for him in the lobby of the police station an hour and a half after he called. Peyton had a thick white cast on her hand and Nathan looked as though he were trying desperately to stifle a laugh and failing. Lucas's good mood lessened slightly.

"Hey, Luke," Peyton said looking slightly annoyed. "How the hell did you wind up in jail?"

"I might have punched Greg in the face during track practice," Lucas muttered. Nathan burst out laughing beside Peyton. "Are you okay?"

It was Peyton's turn to be abashed.

"I punched Rachel Gatina in the face," she mumbled.

Lucas couldn't help but laugh and wrap an arm around her.

"I love you, you know that?" he said pressing his lips to her forehead.

"You both are insane," Nathan said shaking his head and chuckling. "All those years you lecture me about controlling my temper and you go and punch someone in the face."

"I was just following Peyton's orders," Lucas said with a shrug.

Peyton looked at him incredulously.

"When did I order you to land yourself in jail because you punched some jackass in the face?" she demanded.

"You told me that I needed to display my affection for you more publicly," Lucas said smiling. "It's not my fault if Coach Robertson doesn't understand that."

"You are insane," Peyton said. She turned to Nathan. "Weren't you supposed to do something with Haley this morning?"

"Yeah," Nathan said shortly, looking away as they exited the police station. He tossed the keys to Lucas. "You drive home. I'll be back by dinner."

"Nate," Lucas started, knowing that his brother was probably upset because Haley hadn't shown up.

"Save it, Luke," Nathan said shortly. "I promise, I'll be back by dinner."

"Don't do anything stupid," Lucas said. "I don't want to have to save your ass again."

"I won't," Nathan said smiling slightly. He turned and started running. Lucas watched him go.

"It'll be okay," Peyton said rubbing his arm. "He learned his lesson. Besides, I don't think that he's going to risk pissing you off again. Not when you broke Greg's face."

"I don't think he's going to piss you off either," Lucas said a teasing note entering his voice. "You really hit Rachel in the face?"

"She kissed you and I didn't like it," Peyton said. "You didn't either, I hope."

"Oh no, of course not," Lucas said grinning as he reached down and kissed her gently. "Come on, we should probably go corner Haley and find out what happened between them."

"Sounds good. But promise, you won't punch her in the face," Peyton said smiling.

Lucas's own grin widened.

"I won't if you won't."

* * *

Brooke let out a cheer as Stephen turned for home and outraced the left fielder's throw to score the winning run in the first game of the baseball tournament that day. The tournament would determine who would go to the state championship game.

Brooke got up from her seat in the bleachers and headed down to the dugout to congratulate Stephen on his second homerun of the game.

"Hey, handsome," she said as she paused by the entrance to the dugout. Her nose crinkled slightly at the smell of sweat and dirty socks.

Four other of the baseball players turned and looked at Brooke, smiling stupidly at her. Brooke smiled politely as Stephen turned from his bat bag and ginned at her.

"Hey, pretty girl," he said as he walked to the entrance of the dugout and wrapped his arms around her. "I heard you cheering in the stands. You were definitely the loudest."

"What can I say? You're very easy to cheer for, scoring all those runs the way you have been," Brooke said kissing him lightly. "I have to go. Luke texted me and told me that Haley and Nate were having some sort of fight and that I was needed to go down there and play peacemaker."

"Shouldn't you just stay out of it and let them fix their own mess?" Stephen asked. "You're always fixing other people's problems."

"That's what you love most about me," Brooke said smiling. "But if I get them to make-up, then we can have the entire apartment to ourselves tonight."

"I thought Peyton was staying over again because she didn't want to talk to Lucas," Stephen said.

"Honestly, do you not pay attention to what goes on around you?" Brooke asked incredulously. "Lucas and Peyton made up at the hospital the day before the doctors released Nathan. Things have been perfect for them ever since."

"Oh," Stephen said. "Well then go, play peacemaker. I wouldn't mind having you all to myself for once."

"I love you," Brooke said. "You know that, right?"

"I love you too," Stephen said brushing his lips up against hers. "I'll see you tonight."

"Good luck!" Brooke said as she started to walk away. "And if there is a party tonight, I want to go!"

"If there is a party tonight, then I'm not going," Stephen said a dark look crossing his face. He blinked and it was gone.

"Why?" Brooke asked stopping for a moment. Stephen _loved_ parties.

"Because I have a hot girlfriend and want to spend some time with her tonight instead of with the guys," Stephen said. There was a slight catch to his voice, one that indicated that he wasn't being entirely truthful, but Brooke knew that this wasn't the time or the place to question him on it.

"You're sweet," she said. "I'll see you tonight!"

"Bye, Brooke," Stephen said softly.

* * *

Haley walked down to the river court, hoping that Nathan would be there. She had completely forgotten about the breakfast date they were supposed to be on that morning until Lucas had mentioned something about taking Peyton to dinner and then to the gym to practice her punching skills. Haley still did not know what _that_ was about or why Peyton had a broken hand.

The river court was startling empty, save for Haley. The only sounds came from the rushing river and a few seagulls that flew above Haley's head.

Haley sat down on one of the picnic tables, hoping that Nathan would show up. She wanted to apologize for standing him up earlier that day to go help Tyler pack.

Footsteps sounded on the river court's surface. Haley looked up, surprised to find Brooke walking toward her. Brooke looked just as astonished to see Haley as Haley was to see Brooke.

"I thought this was where the Scott brothers hung out," Brooke said. "You're not Nathan."

"Guess idiotic minds do think alike after all," Haley said scooting over so Brooke could sit down. "I don't think that Nathan's been here today."

"What happened between you two, Hales?" Brooke asked softly. "You two were finally getting along. And I know you two were supposed to go on a date earlier today."

"That's what's wrong," Haley said looking away from her cousin. "I forgot about the date and ended up helping Tyler move out of his house. I didn't remember until about an hour ago when Lucas told Peyton that he was taking her out for dinner."

"Have you tried calling Nathan?" Brooke asked.

"Four times. Even a couple of times from Lucas's cell phone since Lucas left his at the apartment. Nothing," Haley said.

"So whatever problem he has, it's not just with you," Brooke concluded. She sighed. "I don't know what to tell you Haley."

"Yeah," Haley said trailing off as a thought came to her. "Do you have Stephen's car?"

"Yeah, I drove it back for him since he's going to be coming back on the team's bus," Brooke said. "Why?"

"I think I know where Nathan might be," Haley said. "And I could walk there if I wanted, but I want to get there as fast as possible."

"Let's go," Brooke said standing up.

* * *

It was quiet in the apartment when Lucas entered. Peyton decided to spend the night with her father after their date, since he was leaving in a couple of days. Larry had decided not to take the job overseas so he could attend Peyton's graduation. The downside of it was that he would be gone starting the day after tomorrow and wouldn't be home up until the day before graduation. The upside—Peyton got her wish and her father would have the entire summer to spend with her before she went off to college. Lucas couldn't have been happier for Peyton, but that meant he would have a lot of free time on his hands.

There was a light on in Nathan's bedroom. Lucas found that odd—usually, when Nathan wanted to be alone, he wouldn't come back to the apartment, no matter how empty it would be. Nathan usually went to the river court or occasionally to the cemetery to visit Deb.

Lucas walked down the hallway, wondering what had put Nathan in a foul mood earlier and why his younger brother was craving solitude now.

He knocked once before entering the warmly lit bedroom. Suddenly, a putrid smell him. Lucas and he wrinkled his nose in disgust.

"Geez, Nate, don't you know how to take a shower?" he murmured as he took a look around.

Lucas's eyes widened in horror as he looked at Nathan's bed and discovered what really happened to his brother.

* * *

Nathan walked up the steps to the apartment just as the stars were starting to appear in the darkening sky. He wasn't surprised to find Lucas passed out on the couch in the living room—punching someone and landing in jail was a hard day's work. Nathan also wasn't surprised to find the three dozen post it notes and random scraps of paper with notes scribbled on them from Haley and Lucas throughout the day. Those two were definitely mother of the year contenders.

There were also two messages, one of which was a telemarketer and the other a wrong number. The wrong number was a drunken phone call from a guy who introduced himself as Cookie and went on and on about how much he missed his Blondie. Nathan made a mental note to tease Lucas or Peyton about that one later.

"NO!"

Nathan started at his brother's scream, jumping up and banging his knee on the island top. He swore loudly, limping out of the kitchen and walking as fast as he dared to the living room.

Lucas was still asleep, but he was tossing and turning, something he never did. Nathan was instantly concerned, especially when he placed a hand on Lucas's shoulder and found it drenched in sweat.

"Lucas?" Nathan poked his brother in the side. He vaguely remembered something about never poking a sleeping bear as Lucas bolted straight up, blankets going everywhere.

"Nathan?"

Nathan hadn't heard Lucas sound _that_ terrified in years. Not since Dan had nearly tried to kill him on the night of Nathan's surprise birthday party. Even then, Nathan highly doubted Lucas sounded as scared as he did now.

"You okay, man?" Nathan asked knowing instantly that it was a stupid question. Lucas obviously wasn't okay.

"I'm fine," Lucas said shoving off the blankets and swinging his legs over the edge of the couch. "When did you get in?"

"A few minutes ago," Nathan said sitting down next to Lucas. "I heard you shouting. I wanted to make sure Michael hadn't come back to do away with you or something."

Instead of the annoyed eye roll or even the slight smirk Nathan had been going for, he instead received a glare as Lucas got off the couch.

"That's not funny," Lucas muttered. "And you know it."

"Luke, I was joking," Nathan said. "I didn't mean anything by it. Sorry if I said something wrong."

"It's fine," Lucas said sighing heavily. "I just—have you called Haley yet? She was freaking out earlier. Didn't catch all of the specifics but I knew that it had to have something to do with you."

"Your confidence in me is so inspiring," Nathan said snidely, knowing that it was his turn to deflect the questions. He didn't want to tell Lucas what happened if Lucas wasn't going to be honest with him.

"Just talk to her, okay? She is going through a lot right now. And so are you. You both could use a friend right now," Lucas said.

"You seem awfully keen on playing matchmaker between us," Nathan said. "What gives?"

"Nothing," Lucas muttered.

Nathan didn't know why, but he knew that he had somehow struck a nerve. Sighing mentally, he swore that one of these days he was going to learn how to understand his brother better.


	47. Chapter 43

**Disclaimer: I do not own _One Tree Hill_ or any of its characters.**

**Author's Note: This chapter… gah. I do NOT like it. There are some cute little snippets that are okay along with some semblance of a plot… but for the most part, it's stringy and crappy and I HATE it. But, it flat out refuses to be written another way and I didn't want to waste another month and a half rewriting it. I'm sorry for the quality of this chapter.**

**Author's Note 2: I also apologize for the length in between updates. I was trying to finish my novel that I want to get published and then we had a ton of snow days, so when we did get back to school, I had a lot of make up work. Then, my horse got sick… and yeah. Life happened. I apologize. I will try not to let it happen again.**

**Author's Note 3: Just so you know, this picks up more or less where the last chapter left off. So... if you get confused, just go back and reread the previous chapter.**

**Broken Hearts and Healing Minds**

**Chapter 43**

The moon was rising over the buildings across the river as Lucas sat down at the deserted picnic table on the river court. He ignored the basketball at his feet, content to stare gloomily out into the darkness and think about all the things he should have done in the past but never got around to doing. Things such as noticing the signs in his younger brother when Nathan had started his drug addiction and knowing when Dan Scott was once again about to wreck absolute havoc on Lucas's life. Those would have come in handy.

Lucas knew that he was probably being too hard on himself—after all, he had no control over what Nathan did or what Dan did, no matter what Lucas wanted to believe. He also knew that the things that had happened were in the past and no amount of wishing as going to change that. He needed to move on.

But he couldn't. Try as he might, there was always something that brought back the bad memories and horrifying images of the hell he went through at his father's hands and then the insanity his brother had reverted to. Even though both people had changed for the better, Lucas was still reminded forcefully of what happened when events such as the brawl at Tyler's going away party had happened.

Lucas would probably never willingly admit it to anyone, but he was terrified of losing Nathan. His brother was the one true blood-relation that Lucas called family. Sure Keith and Dan were occasionally in Lucas's life, but Nathan was the one that had always been there, through everything. Nathan had never judged anything that Lucas had done and likewise, Lucas had extended the same courtesy. Or at least, he tried to. Nathan was truly the best friend Lucas had ever had and the best brother anyone could wish for.

That was why the nightmare Lucas had had earlier had rattled him so much. Not only had it been frighteningly real and vivid, but it had also made Lucas realize that he couldn't bear to lose his brother.

"A penny for your thoughts?"

Lucas jumped at the sound of Nathan's voice. He hadn't been expecting the younger Scott, for Nathan had been fast asleep when Lucas had left the apartment earlier. Then again, Lucas thought, this was their customary hangout. He should have expected Nathan to sooner or later show up.

"I'm not sure if they're worth that much," Lucas murmured staring out at the empty basketball court.

He heard Nathan sigh softly as he sat down next to Lucas.

"You want to talk about the nightmare you had?" Nathan asked.

"I wasn't having a nightmare," Lucas disagreed. It was more like a twisted horror movie that ran on constant replay in his mind.

"Yeah," Nathan snorted. "That explains the screaming and the freaking out when I woke you up."

"I had a dream about you in a dress," Lucas said sarcastically. "It was very creepy. And there were clowns."

"I thought that was Haley's fear, not yours," Nathan said.

"Hey, just because I don't visibly freak out about them doesn't mean they aren't scary," Lucas said. "And I think it was less because of them and more because of you. Pink is definitely _not_ your color."

He laughed as Nathan grimaced.

"I so did not need that mental image," Nathan muttered. "Thanks for that. I'm going to go scratch out my eyes now."

Lucas laughed, though he felt instantly guilty. He shouldn't have been hiding things from Nathan, not after they had just gotten into a huge fight about keeping secrets and trust. And besides, Nathan deserved to know, didn't he?

"Nathan, I—." he trailed off deciding that Nathan had enough to think about with his constant work-outs, problems with Haley, and trying to catch up in school so he would be able to graduate on time with everyone else.

"What?" Nathan asked looking suddenly concerned.

"Nothing," Lucas said looking away. He spotted a basketball. "Do you want to play?"

Nathan sighed heavily, muttering something that sounded distinctly like insane older brothers. Lucas turned back to him and forced a grin.

"Scared?" he challenged.

"Of you?" Nathan asked snorting in disbelief. "Please."

"Prove it," Lucas said picking up the basketball and tossing it to Nathan, who caught it out of reflex. "Come on, Nate!"

Nathan grinned as he stood up on the picnic table and made a perfect three pointer.

"1-0," he said. "Looks like you're losing, old man."

Lucas picked up the basketball and checked it with Nathan, who had jumped off the picnic table. Lucas easily sank a three pointer, smiling at Nathan's annoyed sigh.

"1-1," Lucas said with a grin.

* * *

The pink paper caught Peyton's eye as she was leaving school the following day. She would have ignored it, except for the fact that it was advertising a free concert at a local bar that was having an all ages night. Interested, Peyton made a mental note to tell Lucas about it. He needed some fun and excitement in his life after the events with Michael and finding out that he had a brain tumor and all.

Peyton walked to the parking lot, looking for her car. She had decided to drive it to school this morning, wanting to sleep in versus waking up insanely early to catch a ride with Lucas and Nathan. Why they insisted on getting absolutely no sleep was beyond her, but she wasn't going to start changing her already sporadic sleeping habits a few weeks before finals. She found her car next to Lucas's, along with a hand written note that said Nathan would be picking up pizza for dinner that evening. She sighed. She was getting really sick of pizza.

Peyton dumped her books in the backseat of her car before climbing into the driver's seat. She winced as she brushed her casted hand up against the steering wheel—it was still really sore. Peyton knew that she probably shouldn't have been driving with her hand the way it was, but she didn't care.

_It's all Lucas'_ _fault_, she thought dryly. _He's a masochistic idiot._

Peyton knew that was probably a little harsh—Lucas didn't _like_ any of the crap that happened to him. He tended to go out of his way to avoid things. But trouble always managed to find him and leave him worse for wear. Like the brain tumor, the heart problem, the dead beat father, the dead mother… the list went on and on.

Peyton shoved the thought to the back of her mind. It was such a nice day and not one that she wanted to waste thinking about all the things that were going wrong in Lucas's life. He probably did enough of that by himself.

A rap on her window broke Peyton's thought cycle. She blinked, looking up. She was surprised to see Haley standing outside of her car. The two really hadn't spoken in a long time, not since Nathan's drug problems. It wasn't that they wanted to avoid each other, but it just sort of happened.

"Hey," Peyton said motioning for Haley to get in the car. "What's up?"

"I wanted to talk to you," Haley said.

"I kind of figured," Peyton said dryly. "Do you want to go somewhere?"

"Wherever you were going works for me," Haley said with a shrug.

Peyton started the car, not saying anything as she put the car in reverse and pulled out of the parking spot.

"What's up?" she asked as she pulled onto the main road and started toward the river court. It was more of a force of habit then anything else.

"It's Nathan," Haley said. "I feel bad for standing him up yesterday and now he's avoiding my phone calls. I don't know what to do."

"And you're talking to me instead of Lucas, because?" Peyton asked. It wasn't that she minded talking to Haley, but she really hadn't spoken to Nathan in a while.

"Nathan is, or was, your best friend," Haley said. "That, and Lucas is avoiding me. Well, I don't think he's avoiding _me_, but he's been spending a lot of time with Nathan and since Nathan's avoiding me, then that means Lucas is too by default."

"You could always storm their apartment," Peyton suggested with the barest hints of a smirk. "It worked for me."

Haley rolled her eyes.

"I tried that. A few times, actually," she said. She sighed. "This is probably stupid. I'm being stupid, right? Nathan always comes around, in the end. I should probably just give him some space."

"If you wait too long, it's going to be too late," Peyton said. She mentally winced—her words made it sound like Nathan was beginning to like someone else. Haley's eyes widened in suspicion and alarm.

"What are you talking about?" she demanded.

"It's almost the end of the school year, Hales," Peyton reminded her. "Sooner or later, there's not going to be time to give him space. You're going to have to make the decision as to whether you want to be with him or just be his friend."

* * *

Brooke stretched out on her bed and grabbed her book off the nightstand. She thought that it was extremely unfair that her English teacher was still making the class read new books, even though it was only a few weeks to graduation. There wasn't enough time to finish it, let alone take fifty tests on it.

She was about halfway through the first page when her phone buzzed. Brooke thought about ignoring it—she had to finish the pages for English, but knew that it could be Stephen. She really wanted to talk to Stephen. They really hadn't had the chance to talk after she left the game the other day and she felt insanely guilty for avoiding him.

Brooke grabbed her phone and glanced at the text message waiting for her on the screen. It was from an unknown id, which made her instantly suspicious. She debated whether or not to read it or just delete it.

Curiosity got the better of her and she opened it. Her lips tightened into a thin line as she read through to the end.

"This is so not happening," she muttered. "They seriously can't be thinking about doing this."

The cell phone buzzed again. Brooke knew what the incoming message was going to say, but read it anyway.

_Do not call the police,_ it read. _Or else_.

The two simple words were enough to deter Brooke from going to the authorities. She didn't doubt the seriousness of the threat and didn't really want to test the person who the text message was from. She wasn't going to be responsible for anyone else getting hurt. What had happened with Nathan was bad enough. No. She was going to stop this from happening herself.

* * *

Nathan opened the car door and climbed in as Lucas got in the driver's seat and rested his head on the steering wheel.

"You look like shit, man," Nathan commented.

Lucas let out a hollow chuckle, not even bothering to lift his head from the steering wheel.

"Gee, thanks," he said sarcastically.

"Seriously," Nathan said, reaching into the glove compartment and pulling out the emergency stash of Tylenol. "When was the last time you slept?"

Lucas waved away the offer of Tylenol and pulled his head off the steering wheel, turning the car on and putting it into reverse.

"I got a couple hours last night," he said with a shrug. "I'm fine. Or, as fine as I can be."

Nathan heard the double meaning to that cryptic statement and frowned. He hated the fact that his brother had a brain tumor. It wasn't fair. Lucas had done absolutely nothing to deserve it.

"Maybe you should skip work today," Nathan suggested half-heartedly. He knew that Lucas would probably shrug it off and go on a tirade about the importance of money.

He was surprised when Lucas sighed heavily and nodded.

"I am actually," he said. "There're some things I want to do anyway. Besides, I think we'll be okay for rent this month."

"Really?" Nathan asked raising an eyebrow. He wasn't sure what he was more shocked about—the fact that Lucas was actually taking a day off without being on the edge of death or the fact that they might actually make rent that month.

"Yeah," Lucas said. He glanced over at Nathan. "Don't look so surprised. I do not actually have a death wish. Besides, the manager all but threw me out the door yesterday when I tried to go to work. She said that I was crazy for wanting to work when I looked like death warmed over. She also told me that I had two weeks of paid vacation and that I should not come back until I got some sleep."

Nathan laughed and Lucas cracked a faint smile. Lucas's cell buzzed from its charger in the dashboard.

"Answer that, will you?" Lucas asked. "I would, but with my luck, I would probably cause an accident or something."

Nathan let out another chuckle and took the cell phone off the charger. Lucas had received a text message from an unknown person.

"I don't recognize the number," Nathan commented. "What do you want me to do?"

"Read it. It's probably from Stephen. I never did program his number into my cell phone," Lucas said.

Nathan shrugged and opened the message.

"Somehow, I don't think this is from Stephen," he said.

Lucas stiffened slightly. "What does it say?"

Nathan was quiet for a moment. His brief hesitation must have alerted Lucas to something being wrong, for the older Scott brother reached over and snatched the phone out of Nathan's hands. Nathan released it without protest, still in shock about what it said.

"That's interesting," Lucas commented after a few moments. He tossed the phone into the backseat and turned left. They had arrived at the apartment.

For the second time that day Nathan was stunned. He had expected an explosion, yelling, punching, or _something_ other than a calm, cool collected nod, followed by a graceful exit out of the car.

"You're seriously not going to say anything about this?" Nathan demanded as he got out of the car.

"What do you want me to say, Nate?" Lucas returned, his voice rising. His blue eyes were twin flames of anger. Nathan instantly regretted pushing the matter. "There is nothing to say. Someone, and I have a pretty good idea as to whom, wants me dead. And they said that I can't go to the police, because if I do, then someone else dies. So what do you want me to say? That I'm angry? I figured you were intelligent enough to figure that one out. Do you want me to say that I'm scared? I'm not. Do you want me to say that I'm going to do something about it? I plan to. So what the hell do you want me to say?"

Nathan didn't get the chance to respond as Lucas turned around stormed up to the apartment.

The room was dark and quiet. There was a gentle hum of the air conditioner as it combated the heat outside. Lucas was grateful for the quiet as he threw his stuff down on the ground and crashed onto the couch, burying his head in his hands. His head throbbed angrily and black spots dotted his vision. Lucas closed his eyes, feeling sick to his stomach.

He sighed heavily, wincing as the movement made his head hurt worse. Lucas knew that he should take some Tylenol or the prescription the oncologist had given him to get rid of the worst of the headaches, but he couldn't bring himself to get off the couch. It would probably result in his passing out and getting a concussion and an even worse headache. It was best to just suffer in silence and pray that it went away soon.

Lucas heard the door to the apartment open. He groaned internally. He knew that Nathan was going to want to talk about the text message on Lucas's phone, but Lucas really didn't want to have that conversation at the moment.

The living room door opened, letting in a small flood of light that reached Lucas's overly sensitive eyes, even through his hands. He closed his eyes as the throbbing in his head increased.

"Lucas?" Nathan asked softly.

The younger Scott's footsteps sounded like drumbeats as Nathan approached Lucas, who didn't move. Lucas felt a hand on his shoulder, but didn't respond. He couldn't bring himself to.

"I'll be right back," Nathan said with a sigh. "Don't go anywhere, okay?"

Lucas mumbled his agreement as his brother walked away. There were sounds of rattling in the kitchen, followed by the rushing of water and a pill bottle being opened. Nathan returned a few moments later, carrying a glass of water and two white pills.

"Here," he said.

Lucas pulled his head out of his hands, pleasantly surprised to find that Nathan had turned out the lights. He accepted the medicine and water quietly, more than grateful that someone was there to help him.

"Thanks," he said softly.

Nathan nodded, sitting down on the couch next to him. Lucas swallowed the pills and took a couple sips of water, before setting the glass on the floor and leaning his head up against the back of the couch.

"You going to be okay?" Nathan asked.

Lucas nodded slowly, feeling his eyelids grow heavy as the medicine began to take effect. There was a reason why he flat out refused to take the prescription before he went to school—it completely knocked him out.

"I'll order a pizza," Nathan said. "Maybe get a movie or something. Anything special you want?"

Lucas shook his head, moving to lie down on the couch. He felt Nathan get off the couch and pull the knit blanket over Lucas' shoulders.

"Thanks," he murmured against the couch cushions.

"Any time," Nathan said. "Get some sleep. I'll wake you up when the pizza gets here."

"M'kay," Lucas mumbled, before stretching out and falling asleep.

**Aww. Cute brotherly moments. The only thing keeping this chapter from being totally scrapped. That, and I wanted some Lucas angst and some Nathan being awesome. So… review, please!! **


	48. Chapter 44

**Disclaimer: I own _One Tree Hill_. I also live on Mars, speak fluent Martian, have green attennaes and go around saying 'Greetings, Earthlings'. So yes, if I were a Martian, I would own _One Tree Hill_. But I'm not a Martian, nor to I own _OTH _or any of its characters. I do, however, claim Stephen and Tyler as my own. They're hot and awesome. But I refuse to claim Ryan. Or Michael. The Evil Guild of Evilness claims them.**

**And man, am I crazy tonight. I blame it on the headache. And the large amounts of chocolate/coffee I have consumed in trying to get rid of said headache. So I apologize for any randomness. And I apologize for this chapter. There are some decent parts (aka, Peyton and Lucas moments since that's what everyone has been requesting)... but there aren't really any shining moments in this chapter that I love. However... there is a totally evil cliffie at the end that you guys probably will kill me for. There will be an even more evil one at the end of the next chapter, because I'm in an extremely vindicitive mood and want to abuse some characters. So. Be warned. Blood and gore is coming, even more so than in this chatper.**

**Broken Hearts and Healing Minds**

**Chapter 44**

He should have known coming here was going to be a bad idea. After all, that was his standing track record. Go to a public place… and ruin the good event that was happening there. And that was what made her look of shock and hurt cut that much more deeply, because he knew that he shouldn't have come here tonight.

_Three Hours Earlier_

Stephen stood in the doorway to his apartment, looking at Brooke with something akin to annoyance on his face. He never actually got annoyed, or pissed off for that matter. At least, not at Brooke. In his opinion, she had been through enough lately. But that didn't stop him from becoming slightly irritated with her when she tried for the nine thousandth time (and that was _not_ an exaggeration) to go to the all ages night at the bar.

"No," he said. "I don't want to go."

"You haven't gone _anywhere_ with me since Tyler's party!" Brooke said. "What gives?"

Stephen looked away, not wanting to tell her. She would probably try to tell him that none of it was his fault, that he had no control over the actions of others. But he didn't want to hear that. He wanted to be left alone with his guilt and lock himself away from the world.

"It's nothing," he said, sighing heavily. "I just have a lot of things I need to do tonight."

Brooke's face softened slightly. Stephen inwardly winced—it was a lie; he had absolutely _nothing _to do.

"Can't you come by for at least an hour or so?" she asked, a pleading looking taking hold of her face. "Please?"

Stephen sighed again, internally debating whether or not to go. On one hand, he loved the band, he loved Brooke, and he wouldn't mind going out for a while. But on the other hand, every single time he had gone out in a public place, something bad had happened. And he didn't want to risk losing her, not after he had just lost his sister. But at the same time, wouldn't pushing her away result in losing her?

"Okay," he said. "Maybe for an hour."

Brooke let out a squeal of happiness, throwing her hands around him and kissing him. Stephen smiled uneasily, knowing this was a potentially very bad idea.

* * *

_Present_

Why was it that he always attracted the most amount of trouble he could? It wasn't like he had a death wish or anything. He had actually been going out of his way to avoid trouble lately. But it seemed that trouble wasn't going out of its way to avoid him.

_Three Hours Earlier_

Peyton stared at Lucas in shock as he shoved his hands in the pockets of his jeans, obviously uncomfortable.

"What the hell is this?" she whispered, holding Lucas's cell phone as though it were a snake about to strike. "Lucas, what the _hell_ is this?"

"It's a cell phone," Lucas said sardonically. Peyton glared at him. He sighed. "I don't know, Peyton. All I got was that text message, telling me that I could either go to that place and die tomorrow or I could watch _you_ die."

Peyton stared at him, unable to think of anything to say. _Why does this always happen to us?_ she wondered.

"If it helps, I was thinking of not going," he said. And she saw the effort it took for him to say that, to admit to the fact that he was thinking about saving himself, even if it meant losing someone else in the process. Even if it meant losing her. And Peyton found herself oddly okay with that.

_It's about time he started thinking like he was worth something,_ she thought.

"Don't go," she said, reaching out and placing a hand on his shoulder. "We'll figure something out. I promise, nothing bad will happen."

"You sound just like Nathan," Lucas said, smiling sadly. He shook his head. "There is nothing we _can_ do."

"Sure there is," Peyton said with a soft smile. "We can always go to the all ages night."

Lucas looked at her, slightly suspicious. A slow smile spread across his face, one that was definitely worth changing the subject. Peyton's smile increased.

"Have I told you recently how much I love you?" he asked as he closed the small gap between them.

"Possibly," Peyton said. "But it never hurts to remind me again."

* * *

_Present_

He thought he would have learned his lesson about hurting her by now. But as he stared at her heart broken brown eyes, he knew that he had just utterly destroyed any chance he had of making things work between them.

_Two Hours Earlier_

Nathan was just getting the makings for a grilled cheese sandwich out of the refrigerator when he heard a knock at the apartment door. He was surprised—he hadn't been expecting anyone and Lucas and Peyton had left for dinner and the all ages night thing over an hour ago.

He pulled the door open, astonished to find Haley on the other side.

"Hey," he said, unable to think of anything else to say. "What are you doing here?"

Haley shoved her hands in her pockets and shifted uncomfortably.

"I wanted to talk to you," she said. "I feel horrible for the way I stood you up the other morning for breakfast and I wanted to apologize for it."

"There's nothing to apologize for, Hales," Nathan said. "It wasn't like it meant anything."

The lie hurt, but he refused to show it. He didn't want her to know just how much he had been counting on her to show up for that breakfast date and he didn't want to show her just how much she had hurt him.

There was a brief flash of hurt and indignation on her face, but it left so quickly that Nathan thought he might have imagined it. Her tone was considerably warmer when she spoke again.

"Do you want to do something now?" she asked.

Nathan was shocked. He had thought that she had stood him up because she didn't want to be with him. What was this about?

"No," he said. "Do you want to come in? I was making a grilled cheese."

"Uh… there's this all ages night tonight at the bar. I was wondering if you wanted to get dinner and then go to it. With me," Haley said, speaking so quickly that Nathan barely understood her.

He stared at her. She shifted uncomfortably again.

"Do you?" she asked as the awkward silence stretched on between them.

"Sure," he said, shrugging.

If worse came to worse, then he could always hang out with Lucas and Peyton.

* * *

_Present_

Peyton was having a good time for the first time since she had discovered that Lucas had a brain tumor and her life had been turned upside down. Gently swaying next to Lucas to the beat of the music… she thought that life wouldn't get much better than this.

"What are you smiling about?" Lucas asked softly, with the barest hints of a smile on his face. Peyton knew that he wasn't feeling the greatest—it was written all over his face and he was still obviously worried about the events that were supposed to happen the following day.

"I'm here with you and there's great music," she replied. "What's there not to smile about?"

Expecting a sardonic response, Peyton was surprised when Lucas kissed her gently on the lips.

"Hmm, I'll agree to that," he murmured in her ear as he rested his head on hers. She pressed her face against his chest, glad to be there with him and feel his arms around her. It was the closest they had been physically in a while. She wouldn't have traded this opportunity for the world.

"I love you," she said.

"I love you too," he replied.

* * *

Stephen was anxious and hyper alert to anything and everything that had the potential to go wrong. He could barely focus on Brooke, who looked absolutely stunning and was trying desperately to gain his attention, and nor could he relax long enough to enjoy his drink.

"Are you okay?" Brooke asked, her hazel eyes full of concern. "You seem… I dunno. Anxious."

Stephen let out a harsh laugh. "I guess you can say that," he said.

Brooke looked taken aback by the cruelness in his voice. She had never seen this side of him before and it was obvious that she didn't like it.

_Serves her right,_ Stephen thought, jumping as someone walked past him. _I didn't want to come here anyway. Something is going to go wrong. I can feel it._

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Brooke hissed. "You're pissed off at something, you won't talk about it, and you're flat out ignoring me. What the hell is going on?"

Instead of answering, Stephen stood up and walked away, not bothering to look back.

* * *

Lucas was starting to feel sick to his stomach as the drumbeat finally cut off. He wasn't sure what made him feel worse—the constant barrage of noise or one person in particular standing near the bathrooms that looked suspiciously like Michael.

He didn't have time to dwell on the stranger, for Nathan walked up to the bar, looking extremely pissed off.

"What the hell is up with you?" Lucas asked as he swirled his straw around in his club soda. He realized that he really hated club soda and would do a lot of things for a shot of vodka and orange juice.

"Haley," Nathan growled.

Lucas inwardly sighed as the band started up again. He loved the band, but he really wish that he didn't have to shout over it to make himself heard. Nathan was known for being deaf.

"What did you do this time?" he asked. He wished he hadn't when he received a dark glare for his efforts.

"She's going to Stanford," Nathan growled. "And she asked me if I could possibly get a basketball scholarship there and give up the one Duke sent me."

Duke had called that afternoon and reoffered their scholarship to Nathan, who had accepted it on the spot.

"That's a good thing, Nate," Lucas said, pushing away his plastic cup. His head throbbed. "That means she still loves you. I thought that was what you wanted."

"She wants me to give up everything I worked for just so I can be with _her_," Nathan said. "It doesn't matter that she has been about as reliable as a tsunami when it comes to being in a relationship."

"Is that what you think of me?"

Lucas inched away, taking his disgusting club soda and moving a few feet away. It still wasn't far enough from the fight that was beginning to escalate.

"YOU ARE A SELFISH BASTARD!" Haley screamed, smacking Nathan across the face. "All you care about is yourself!"

Nathan replied more quietly, "You're the one who can't make up her mind about whether she wants to be with me or not!"

Lucas had enough of this. He was sick and tired and he really didn't want to listen to their incessant fighting anymore. They both needed to grow up and realize that they were either meant to be or not.

He stood up from his seat, suddenly feeling really dizzy and wishing that Peyton would appear from wherever she had disappeared to. He thought she might have gone to comfort Brooke, who had seemed pretty pissed off about something Stephen had done, but Lucas wasn't sure.

Lucas placed his hand on the bar stool, trying to steady himself. His head pounded and his stomach threatened to empty its contents all over the barroom floor. If it hadn't been for the sudden arrival of Stephen, Lucas was fairly certain he would have done a face plant on the floor and then proceeded to pass out.

"The fighting's annoying you, too, eh?" Stephen asked as he placed a gentle hand on Lucas's shoulder.

Lucas mustered up the strength to glare at Stephen.

"Like you would know," he muttered.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Stephen asked, looking bemused.

"Ever met someone named Brooke?" Lucas retorted. "Honestly, what the hell is going on between you two?"

Nathan and Haley had gone somewhere else, Lucas noticed. He was grateful that they had finally stopped fighting long enough to move out of the public eye, but he hoped they didn't wind up killing each other. He liked his best friend and didn't mind having his brother around.

"It's my fault," Stephen admitted, shifting uncomfortably. "I'm being stupid."

"Well, you must be if you're admitting it," Lucas said, forcing a slight smirk on his features. He would have responded to Stephen's eye roll, but it took most of his strength just to keep himself upright.

"I should probably stop thinking so highly of myself," Stephen said.

"If you're in the mood to make cryptic remarks, can you find someone else?" Lucas asked. "I'm kind of tired."

"Right. Sorry," Stephen said looking sheepish. "Where you going somewhere?"

"Home," Lucas said.

"River court or apartment?" Stephen countered.

Lucas grinned and for once, it didn't take that much effort.

"I think we're starting to know each other," he said. "I'm fine. I can make it to the car by myself and from there… I can manage."

"You don't sound too sure," Stephen said.

"Peyton's going to show up eventually, once she's done sorting through whatever issues you and Brooke are having," Lucas said pointedly.

Stephen sighed. "You don't let things go, do you?"

"Nope. I'm a stubborn ass."

"I think you're more stubborn than any damn donkey," Stephen muttered. Lucas stuck his tongue out. Childish, but the movement didn't make his head hurt any more than it already did. And it earned him an eye roll from Stephen.

_That's two,_ he thought. _I'm on a roll tonight. No pun intended._

"What's going on between you two?" Lucas pestered.

"It's nothing, really," Stephen said, running a hand through his hair. "I just—lately, it seems like everywhere I go, bad things happen. And I don't want something bad to happen to Brooke."

"So you just took yourself out of the public eye for a while," Lucas concluded. "Smart."

"Maybe," Stephen said with a shrug. "But Brooke sure as hell doesn't see it that way."

"Have you tried explaining it to her?" Lucas asked, already knowing the answer.

"No," Stephen said. "And I know I should… but I don't want her to think that I'm a coward or anything. And she'll probably tell me that it's not my fault."

"It's not," Lucas said. "I take full responsibility for everything bad that has happened to you since you've met me."

"Really?" Stephen asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Name one that that has happened, outside of familial issues that I totally don't have any control over, that has not somehow involved me," Lucas said. "Do it."

Stephen was quiet.

* * *

Michael moved closer, knowing that his time was coming. Ryan had been right all along in trying to kill the bastard spawn of Dan Scott. There was nothing worthy about the damn blond. Michael was going to see to it that Ryan's death was not in vain.

The trouble was that there were two of him. Michael was fairly certain that he hadn't had so much to drink that he was beginning to see double, but he wasn't positive.

He placed his hand on the small L-shaped bulge in his pocket, feeling relaxed by its weight. He had sent a text message to that bitchy brunette and to Lucas that he was going to kill Lucas the following day… but that was before he knew about the all ages night. This was going to be so much better.

One of the Lucases turned, stumbling ever so slightly, before walking away. Michael reacted, pulling out his gun.

Ignoring the screams of the patrons around him, Michael shot two bullets. One to the blond by the door and the other to the one by the bar stool. He didn't check to see if the bullets connected before melting in the crowd. It was a mistake on his part.

**

* * *

**

Yes. I will give cookies and hugs to anyone who correctly guesses the identity of the one who is shot.

**And yes, this chapter was totally random and yes, Haley and Nathan's fight probably seems a little out of character. But I claim author privileges for the first time ever in this story and say that they have a lot of bad things between them and they are both highly emotional people that like to yell. So... where they went, what happened to the victim, what happened to Peyton and Brooke, and more to come in the next chapter!! **


	49. Chapter 45

**Disclaimer: I do not own **_**One Tree Hill**_** or any of its characters.**

**Author's Note: I apologize for the shortness/choppiness of this update. I was trying my hardest to get this out before I go out of town on Wednesday. I hope you guys like it, though! It's full of action and good stuff. The emotions are a little forced, though. **

**Author's Note 2: More action/blood/gore to come in the next few chapters! I'm going to give you all a major spoiler and say that Peyton has a HUGE role in the upcoming chapters. Along with Brooke. Lucas goes emo. Again. Hehe. **

**Read and review, please!**

**Broken Hearts and Healing Minds**

**Chapter 45**

Screams filled the bar as the gunshot went off. Lucas jumped off his barstool as he watched Stephen fall to the ground, the blonde's face surprised and pained.

"Stephen!" he yelled.

Nathan pressed the accelerator down further to the floor, ignoring Haley's surprised gasp as the ancient car sped up to well over the speed limit.

"Slow down!" she yelled.

Nathan ignored her.

Headlights filled his vision. He was vaguely aware of Haley screaming something in his ear, but didn't understand what she was saying as the two cars connected head on.

Brooke froze as she heard Lucas's shout from the bar. She exchanged horrified looks with Peyton.

"Go," Peyton urged. "I'll call 911."

Brooke didn't need any other encouragement. She pushed through the doors of the bathroom and raced across the bar room floor, fear filling her as she reached the crowd surrounding Lucas and Stephen.

**Ten Minutes Earlier**

Nathan's cheek stung with the force of Haley's blow, but he refused to let her see that.

"YOU'RE A SELFISH BASTARD!" she screamed, oblivious to the fact that the entire bar was now staring at them. "All you care about is yourself!"

"You're the one who can't make up her mind about whether she wants to be with me or not!" Nathan replied, his voice hard and quiet.

Nathan was distantly aware of Lucas inching away, but forgot all about his brother when Haley looked highly offended and heartbroken at the same time.

_Serves her right,_ he thought.

"You were the one who was pushing me away!" Haley retorted. "You told me that you hated me. You told me that you didn't want to be around me anymore."

"I never told you that I hated you," Nathan protested.

_Unless I was high,_ he added silently. _I could never hate you. No matter how much I may have wanted to._

"Then why won't you come with me to Stanford?" Haley asked.

Nathan sighed heavily.

"Can we go somewhere less public to talk about this?" he asked.

Haley looked as though she were about to say no, but she sighed and nodded.

"Sure," she said. "Let's go."

Stephen and Lucas stared stonily at each other for the longest time before Stephen sighed and looked away.

"It's not your fault, Luke," he said. "I hate to tell you this, but the world does not revolve around you."

"Really?" Lucas asked, plastering a fake look of shock onto his face. "Since when?"

Stephen rolled his eyes. "Do you need a ride home? I think Nathan just stole your car and you look like you're in no condition to be driving right now."

"What? I don't look beautiful and handsome?" Lucas asked, smirking as Stephen grimaced.

"You look like absolute shit," the other blonde said honestly. "I'll go get the car. You can meet me out front."

"I'm not sure if I'm ready for such an intense commitment," Lucas said. "I mean after all, we just met and all. I hardly know you."

"I'll be right back," Stephen said, shaking his head as he got up and walked toward the door.

Peyton wrapped an arm around Brooke's shoulders, uncertain as to how she should comfort the brunette when she had no idea what the hell was going on. She wished that she could talk to Stephen and demand what had happened, but since Peyton had gotten back together with Lucas, Stephen and she had hardly talked at all.

"I'm sorry," Brooke said, taking a deep, shuddering breath. "I don't mean to act like this. But he's being so distant all the time now, except when we're at home. I can't help but think that maybe he's ashamed to be around me."

"He's not ashamed to be around you," Peyton said. "He loves you. He's going through a lot right now, though. He just lost his sister and as okay as he seems, he's not. He's hurting and he needs you to be there for him."

"I'm trying every way I know how," Brooke said. "But he keeps pushing me away!"

"Maybe you should stop trying so hard and just be around him," Peyton suggested. "Maybe all he needs is you."

And that is when the first gunshot sounded and screams filled the bar.

**Present**

Lucas felt something hot and solid graze his cheek, but he ignored it as he raced toward the door. He couldn't understand what had just happened. Stephen couldn't have been shot.

"Someone call 911!" he shouted as he crouched down next to Stephen, who was barely clinging to consciousness. Blood was staining Stephen's t-shirt, darkening his chest.. Lucas quickly pulled off his own shirt, ignoring the sting of pain that erupted from his cheek, and pressed the material onto the bullet wound.

"Hang on, Stephen," he murmured. "You're going to be okay."

"T-tell B-Brooke I love her," Stephen whispered.

"You are _not_ going to die," Lucas said firmly, ignoring the tears that stung his eyes as he pressed harder on the wound. "Not over this. Not because of me."

"Not your f-fault," Stephen whispered. "Y-you didn't s-s-shoot the g-gun."

Lucas bit his lip, knowing now was _not_ the time to be getting into an argument with Stephen.

"Where the hell is the ambulance?" he yelled to the gathered crowd.

Nathan let out a groan as he fought his way back to consciousness. Something warm and sticky stung his eye.

"Haley?" he called, remembering vaguely that she had been in the car with him when they had crashed. "Hales?"

There was silence. Nathan had never felt more alone then he did right now.

He fought to move his head, but found himself unable to move a muscle. He let out a moan of pain as he attempted to move his hand to move away whatever it was that was pinning him to the seat.

White spots dotted his vision. The smell of gasoline filled his senses. Nathan tried one last time to get Haley's attention.

"Haley!"

Everything faded to black for a second time.

Brooke crouched down beside Lucas and Stephen, her heart in her throat. She was on the verge of tears as she grasped Stephen's hand in her own and squeezed it tightly.

Stephen's eyes fluttered open. Brooke felt her breath catch as he met her gaze.

"B-brooke?" he whispered.

"Shh, it's okay," she murmured. "You're going to be okay."

Red and blue lights filled the bar as the paramedics swarmed the scene. Brooke was vaguely aware of someone wrapping an arm around her and gently pulling her away from Stephen. She fought and kicked against the person, wanting to be with Stephen, to apologize for what had happened.

"Stephen!" she yelled.

"He's going to be okay," a familiar husky voice said in her ear. "The paramedics have him. He's going to be okay. I promise."

Brooke turned to face Lucas, who looked horrible. He was in an undershirt that was stained with sweat and blood. His hair was a mess and he had dark circles underneath his eyes. A lone tear slid down his face as he gazed at her.

"You're bleeding," she whispered, reaching out and touching him gently on the face.

"I'm fine," Lucas said automatically, a shudder going through him. Brooke was stunned. She had never seen him break down like this.

"Lucas," she started.

"Come on. I'll drive you to the hospital," he said. Brooke didn't miss the look of pain that crossed his face as he gazed at the now empty bar.

"You're in no condition to drive," she said. "I'll go find Peyton. We can take her car."

Lucas nodded. Brooke realized that he must have felt as awful as she did. He had a hunted look on his pale face, one that Brooke didn't recognize. She shivered.

Peyton, mercifully, was standing by the door, her car keys in hand and looking extremely shell shocked. She waved them over.

"They're taking Stephen to Mercy General. It's closer than Tree Hill," Peyton said. She glanced toward Lucas, gasping in surprise. "You're hurt!"

"It's nothing," Lucas murmured. "It can wait. We need to be there for Stephen."

Red and blue filled his ears, along with a loud wail. He heard voices coming toward him, ones that were horrified and cautious.

"Car… dangerous… explode," someone said.

"She's alive!" someone else called. "Let's get them out of here!"

"Shit," the first person said. Whoever the voice belonged to was very close.

A hand touched his shoulder. Pain seared through him.

"Easy son," the first person said. "The ambulance is right over there. I'm going to just take your seatbelt off and get you onto the gurney. Just relax, okay? Can you tell me what your name is?"

"Nathan," he whispered, forcing his eyes open.

It was dark, save for the flashing lights. There was a forest to his right and the sound of rushing water to his left. The stars above were extremely bright.

"Just hold on, Nathan, okay? We're gonna get you out of here," the first person, a grizzly haired man, said. "It's going to be okay."


	50. Chapter 46

**Disclaimer: I do not own _One Tree Hill_ or any of its characters.**

**Author's Note 1: Well. It is time for yet another round of sincere apologies followed by another crazy update followed by another few weeks of silence followed by what should be the final two chapters. Unless I get crazy and decide that the story needs major reconstruction... which it shouldn't. **

**Author's Note 2: I'm happy to say that we are almost done with this crazy journey (and it's been two years overdue). I'm sorry if a lot of you have since lost interest due to my lack of updates and I hope that those of you who have stuck around enjoy the ending.**

**Author's Note 3: For the record, there may or may not be a sequel. I originally planned this story out as a triliogy, but I'm not sure how depressed I want to make myself and others. It depends on where season 8 of OTH ends up. If it goes in the direction I want, there will be a sequel. If not, then there won't be. And that probably doesn't make any sense whatsoever, but... it's 11:30 PM and I've been up since about 5 AM. I apologize.**

**Broken Hearts and Healing Minds**

**Chapter 46**

Lucas stared up at the breaking dawn, wishing not for the first time that his life could have been different. He wished that he didn't have to do what he was about to do, but he had no choice.

An ambulance pulled up into the parking lot, its lights glowing in the dim light. Two paramedics jumped out. Lucas looked away from the rising sun to watch the gurney be unloaded. The two paramedics started yelling at each other but Lucas barely heard what they were saying. His breath caught as he recognized the person on the gurney. _Nathan._

* * *

Brooke glanced at the clock anxiously. Lucas had left over an hour and a half ago to go get some fresh air. She wouldn't have thought anything of it except that she knew Lucas was planning on doing something stupid. She had seen that look on his face when he had left the waiting room.

"Family of Stephen Burns?"

Brooke glanced up at the sound of Dr. Richards' voice. The grizzled doctor looked exhausted as he spotted her and walked over.

"How is he?" Brooke asked.

"The bullet just missed his heart and lungs," Dr. Richards said. "He's a lucky guy. An inch or two either way and he would have died instantly."

Brooke stared at the doctor in shock. _Had it really been that close?_ she wondered.

"Can we see him?" she asked quietly.

"He's resting at the moment and I'd prefer not to disturb him," Dr. Richards said. He smiled softly. "It will be okay, Brooke. Stephen's going to pull through this. You'll see."

* * *

Peyton pulled into the river court parking lot, praying that Lucas would be here and knowing that he wouldn't. He had seemed out of his mind earlier and had left the waiting room before he even made sure that Stephen was all right.

Peyton got out of her car, sighing as she took in the early morning sights. Lucas wasn't there, but there was something about the quiet emptiness of the place that drew Peyton in. Her life had been so chaotic as of late and she never really had time to catch her breath.

She walked over to one of the picnic tables and sat down, curling her knees up to her chin. She stared out over the river, watching the river rush by. Absently, she wondered where Nathan and Haley were. She hadn't seen either of them since last night when they had stormed out of the bar in a heated argument.

Her cell phone buzzed. She pulled it out of her pocket and glanced at it. It was a text message from Brooke.

_Stephen's alive. Nathan and Haley are in the hospital. Find Lucas and get over here ASAP._

Peyton's blood froze.

"No," she whispered.

* * *

Nathan let out a groan as he fought his way back to consciousness. Bright light impeded his vision for a second before disappearing. He groaned again.

"Take it easy there, son," a distantly familiar voice said. "You've got a pretty nasty concussion. Can you tell me where you are?"

"Hospital?" Nathan guessed, recognizing the sound of a heart monitor in the background and the smell of antiseptic.

"Good," the voice said. "Can you tell me what your name is?"

"Nathan."

"Okay, Nathan. Try not to move. This is going to hurt. I've got to reset your shoulder. You dislocated in the crash."

There was a faint _click_ followed by a rush of pain. Nathan bit his lip to keep from yelling out.

"It's okay," the voice said as there was a sharp prick and nothingness filled Nathan's veins. "You're going to be okay."

Nathan really wished people would stop saying that.

* * *

Haley leaned heavily on Brooke as they limped back to the waiting room. Haley had escaped the crash pretty much unscathed save for a sprained ankle and a cracked collar bone. Nathan hadn't been nearly as lucky—he was being held for observation until later that day. Apparently he had dislocated his shoulder and earned himself a concussion.

"What were you two fighting about?" Brooke wanted to know as together, they sat down in the uncomfortable hospital chairs.

"I asked him to go to Stanford with me," Haley said. "He got offended and thought that I was trying to interfere with his dreams. He said some things that he shouldn't have and I said some things I probably shouldn't have."

"And how did that lead you two in a car on the crappiest road in Tree Hill?"

"Nathan wanted to leave and I wasn't about to let the argument go," Haley said, wincing as she attempted to shrug. "What happened to Stephen?"

"He was shot," Brooke said quietly, shuddering. "I was in the bathroom with Peyton when we heard gunshots. We heard Lucas yell and then Peyton called 911. I don't really remember what happened after that, except ending up here."

"We really suck at being in public," Haley said quietly, just as a young nurse came out.

"Stephen is ready for visitors," she said.

"Go," Haley said as Brooke hesitated. "I'll be fine."

* * *

Lucas slowed to a stop outside of a large brick apartment building with graffiti littering the sides. He took a deep breath, trying to still his racing heart as he walked up the steps. The faded, peeling gold numbers listed the apartments as 1915 Merryweather Lane. He checked the sheet of paper in his hand and sighed heavily. He was in the right place.

* * *

Peyton all but ran through the doors of Mercy General Hospital. She spotted Haley near the far corner of the room, closest to the nurses' station. She breathed a sigh of relief and sent a silent prayer to whomever kept Haley alive.

"Peyton!" Haley exclaimed, looking considerably less miserable than she had five seconds prior. Peyton walked over.

"Where's Brooke?" she asked, sitting down next to the brunette. "And what happened to you?"

"Brooke's in with Stephen," Haley answered. "He's going to be fine. Nathan and I were in a car wreck."

"What?" Peyton gasped.

"Nathan's fine," Haley said quickly. "He has a dislocated shoulder and a concussion, but otherwise is okay. I broke my collarbone and sprained my ankle."

"Why were you two in a car wreck? When did this happen?" Peyton demanded.

"About three hours ago, actually," Haley said. "Right after Stephen… you know."

Peyton shuddered as the sound of the gunshot echoed through her mind. She nodded grimly.

"I'm glad you're okay," she said.

"Me too," Haley said. "I overheard the paramedics talking. If they hadn't gotten there when they did, Nathan and I probably wouldn't have made it."

Peyton wrapped a gentle arm around Haley's shoulders, sensing the other girl's distress. "It's going to be okay," she said. "You got out of there in time. It's going to be okay."

* * *

Lucas let out a grunt of pain as he tripped over a loose floorboard and crashed to the ground. His head seared and his ribs screamed with protest.

Above him, someone let out a deep, sadistic chuckle.

"Not so tough once you're on your own, are you _Lucas_?" Michael said, kicking Lucas in the stomach for what had to have been the fourth time in the past twenty minutes. "You're pathetic."

"Says the guy who lured me here at six o'clock in the damn morning after you tried to shoot me," Lucas snapped, trying to get to his feet. Large, meaty hands forced him back down.

"You are nothing but a cockroach, Scott," Michael snarled. "And you will stay down there until I squash you like the bug that you are."

"Well, if I'm a cockroach, then you know that I won't die," Lucas said breathlessly as Michael's fist connected to his gut. He flinched.

"We'll see about that."

* * *

Brooke felt tears of happiness stream down her face as she gazed down at Stephen's exhausted, but conscious face. He smiled tiredly at her.

"It's going to be okay, Brooke," he said hoarsely. "I'm going to be okay. Doc says that the bullet missed anything vital."

"I know," she whispered, squeezing his hand as tight as she could. "It's just—I can't stand you being hurt like this. I hate it."

"I know," Stephen said softly. "But I will get better."

"I'm sorry for yelling at you the way I did," Brooke said, using her free hand to wipe at the tears. "I shouldn't have gotten upset over a stupid thing like that."

"No, you were right," Stephen said, wincing as he shifted his weight. "I shouldn't have reacted like that."

"Why did you?" Brooke asked.

"I thought it was obvious," Stephen said. Brooke raised an eyebrow at him. "Every time I've attended a party lately, it seems like someone's gotten hurt. And I couldn't help but feel that that was my fault."

Brooke let out a sad laugh. "You obviously haven't spent much time around Lucas and Nathan then, if you believe that you caused all of this."

Stephen chuckled darkly. "I'm beginning to figure that out," he said, gesturing to himself. "I'm sorry that I was acting like an overprotective ass."

"It's okay," Brooke said. "Just as long as you're my overprotective ass."

* * *

Peyton hung up her phone angrily after she reached Lucas's voicemail for the tenth time that evening. She was starting to become alarmed—Lucas _always_ answered his cell phone.

"No luck?"

Peyton turned to Haley and sighed, shaking her head.

"No," she admitted. "And I'm starting to get worried. He never ignores me for this long, even when he is in one of his sulking moods."

"Do you think something's happened to him?" Haley asked, her voice breathless with concern. "Michael?"

"I don't know," Peyton said sitting down and putting her head in her hands. "I can't help but feel that he's in trouble, wherever he is."

"You should go and look for him," Haley told her. Peyton looked at her in protest.

"I'm needed here," she said. "You and Nathan and Brooke and Stephen…"

"Are not nearly as important as Lucas at the moment," Haley said firmly. "Stephen's awake. Nathan will pull through. Brooke and I can handle this. You need to go find Lucas."

"Hales," Peyton said softly.

"Go," Haley said, putting her hand on Peyton's. "You're going to be miserable and annoying until you find out what happened to him. Go."

"Thank you," Peyton said softly.

"Don't thank me," Haley said. "Make sure Lucas is okay."

* * *

Lucas closed his eyes, wishing this would all end already. He was beginning to lose feeling in his fingers from being tied up for so long. His head felt as though someone had lit off a billion sticks of dynamite in it. His cheek throbbed from where the bullet had grazed it. His chest was on fire—he wasn't sure if it was due to the broken ribs, the knife jammed in between his ribs, or his heart condition, but it was making it impossible to breathe. Black spots swarmed his vision.

Something hard and fleshy connected with his face. Lucas blinked, spitting out blood from where he had bitten his cheek.

"You're not going to die yet," Michael snarled. "Not when you still have to pay for all of the things you did to Ryan!"

"Geeze, were you two in love with each other or something?" Lucas demanded. "I mean honestly, you're starting to get a little freaky with the 'I shall avenge Ryan' thing. Didn't you get the memo? He drowned. I tried to save his sorry ass after he tried to kill me."

"He was right in trying!" Michael retorted. "You are nothing but a black hole, a waste. You drain the life out of everything and everyone you touch."

Lucas paled with anger—which was saying something, considering how very pale he already was due to blood loss.

"You don't know anything about me," he said, his voice a rasp.

"I know that your daddy doesn't love you, that your uncle doesn't give two rats about you, and that your mother killed herself rather than stay with you," Michael taunted.

Lucas clenched his hands into fists, wishing that he hadn't when white hot pain shot up his hands.

"Why don't you untie me and tell me that again," he said dangerously. "Or are you too scared of what I might do to you?"

He received another punch in the face for his anger.

"I am not scared of you!" Michael shouted, pulling out a gun. "I'm going to kill you!"

* * *

Peyton pounded the steering wheel with frustration as she checked the apartment parking lot and realized that Lucas wasn't there. She had a lurching feeling that Lucas was in trouble, wherever he was, and that if she didn't get to him in time, then it would be too late.

"God damnit!" she screamed. "Where the hell are you?"

As if in reply, a cell phone that was definitely not her own began to vibrate in the dashboard. Peyton stared at in blank surprise, recognizing it as Lucas's.

She picked it up, noting the fourteen missed calls he had from her and the ten unread text messages he had received from Brooke and Nathan.

The last read message was from an unknown number. It contained a single address. Her blood chilled as she recognized the address.

"Oh shit," she whispered.

She put the car into reverse and peeled out of the parking lot, already dialing 911 before she was even on the main road.


	51. Chapter 47

**Disclaimer: I do not own _One Tree Hill_ or any of its characters.**

**Author's Note: You guys should know by now that I really do like cliffhangers. And I like putting Lucas into as many dire situations as possible. And I like some awesomely confusing chapters that leave you all wondering what the hell is happening... and then revealing it, like forever later. So. If you get confused in this chapter, it will all be explained in the next one.**

**Author's Note 2: This came extremely close to being the last chapter of this story. As it is... I decided to go ahead and give you guys the promised two, just because I am almost done with the next chapter. **

**Reviews are welcome, but not necessary. The next chapter will be posted regardless, but it never hurts to tell the author how much you like/hate the story.**

**Broken Hearts and Healing Minds**

**Chapter 47**

You would think that after every single time Peyton had seen Lucas badly injured, she would have gotten used to it. And this time wasn't nearly as bad as the time Ryan had attacked him. But as she broke through the rotted door and stormed into the decrepit living room and found Michael with a gun aimed at a barely conscious, very bloody Lucas, Peyton once again felt that all too familiar overwhelming sense of fear and horror that she had every single time Lucas was hurt.

"P-Peyton," he whispered, his blue eyes wide with shock and fright.

"Well, well, well," Michael said, looking as though Christmas had come early. He grinned as he moved the gun from Lucas to Peyton. "This is an amusing change of events."

"M-Michael," Lucas said, trying to force himself into a standing position. Peyton, through her shock at having a gun pointed at her for the second time in her life, saw the pain and Herculean effort it took for him to stand. Her heart broke at the agony in his handsome blue eyes.

"Maybe you'll understand how I feel about you killing Ryan if I kill the bitch," Michael said thoughtfully, his finger resting casually on the trigger. Peyton gulped, trying to think of something to do. She couldn't just stand here and let the bastard shoot her. Not in front of Lucas.

"Don't you dare hurt her," Lucas snarled, stumbling as he took a step forward. Michael sneered at him.

"You're pathetic," he said, never pointing the gun anywhere but at Peyton.

"Let her go," Lucas said, wrapping an arm around his chest. Peyton's heart skipped a beat at the amount of blood on his shirt. _How was he still alive?_ she wondered.

"No," Michael said. "She's a part of this, just as much as that other bitch, Brooke. You brought her into this."

Before Michael or Peyton had the chance to move, Lucas had knocked the gun out of Michael's hand and sent both men crashing to the ground.

"Lucas!" Peyton screamed as the floor beneath them gave way and she was plunged into darkness.

* * *

Peyton checked her watch for the tenth time that day, tapping her foot anxiously as she glanced around the empty hallway of Tree Hill High. She spotted Brooke and Stephen walking toward her.

"Where have you been?" she demanded, hurrying over to them. "I thought you had died or something."

"Relax, Peyton," Stephen said, smiling slightly as he wrapped an arm around Brooke. "We're fine. We just had some trouble finding a parking spot."

"Are the others with you?" Peyton asked, relaxing slightly.

"I didn't see Taylor's car," Stephen said carefully. "But that doesn't necessarily mean anything. They could just be running late."

"Something's wrong," Peyton muttered, tugging at the strap of her dress nervously. "There were complications or something. I should go."

"Hold on," Stephen said, reaching out and grabbing her wrist as she went to leave. "Lucas wouldn't want that. He would want you here."

"Stay, Peyton," Brooke urged quietly. "It's our graduation from high school! You can't miss this!"

* * *

Peyton let out a cough, wincing as pain seared through her arm.

"Lucas?" she rasped, coughing again as she pulled herself into a sitting position.

It was dark. And extremely dusty. Peyton could hardly see her hand, let alone the rest of the room.

"This ends now," a voice growled from somewhere ahead of her. Peyton's heart lurched as she recognized the voice as Michael's.

Peyton unwillingly allowed Brooke to lead her away from Stephen and to the room where the rest of the girl graduates were getting ready.

"Cheer up, Sawyer," Brooke said. "Things will be okay. You'll see."

"You must know something I don't," Peyton grumbled as her eyes rested on an all too familiar red-head.

Brooke sighed heavily.

"Look, all I ask is that you stop being so depressed for two hours," she said. "Two hours. Then I'll let you go back to being Little Miss Emo-Girl and listen to your shoot up and die music, okay?"

Peyton glared at her.

"Why should I be happy?" she demanded. "Why should I want to enjoy this?"

"Because it means that you survived four years of this place," Brooke retorted. Then she winced at her words. "Peyton, I didn't mean-."

"Forget it," Peyton hissed, pushing past Brooke and walking further into the room.

* * *

Peyton bit her lip to hide a groan as she hastily pulled herself into a standing position. Pain flooded through her arm, leading her t o believe that it was broken. She didn't care.

"Why is this so important to you?"

Peyton froze at the sound of Lucas's voice, relief flooding through her. Although it was weak and raspy and barely audible, it was still there, which meant Lucas was alive.

"Ryan was my friend," Michael said, his voice high-pitched with hysteria. Peyton might have found that slightly amusing if the situation hadn't been so dire.

"I've lost friends too, Michael, but you don't see me trying to shoot anyone," Lucas rasped.

"You have other friends! You're Mr. Popular!" Michael yelled. "You have no reason to hate anyone! You have a hot girlfriend that loves you, your brother actually gives a shit about you, you're practically brother and sister with your best friend and you have a full ride to UNC! Do you know how many people would kill for that?"

"You, apparently," Lucas said, his dry humor marred by the shakiness of his tone. Peyton's heart skipped a beat as she slowly began to walk in the direction of the voices. She froze at the sound of a gun safety being clicked off.

* * *

Peyton stalked over to the woman who was handing out graduation robes. Why Tree Hill High had to wait until the day of graduation to hand out the robes, Peyton would never understand.

"Last name, sweetie?" the woman, who was kind and motherly, asked with a smile.

Peyton bit her lip, trying to ward off the sudden onset of tears. She blinked.

"Sawyer," she said in a quiet voice.

"Here you are, honey," the woman said. She handed Peyton the black robe. "Don't look so sad; this is a very exciting day!"

Peyton accepted the robe with a nod of thanks, but didn't say anything else. This definitely was not going to be an exciting, memorable day.

* * *

Lucas chuckled. It was a dark, humorless chuckle that Peyton vowed she never wanted to hear in her lifetime again, because it was the complete opposite of everything she had come to associate with Lucas.

"Don't laugh at me!" Michael shouted. "This isn't funny!"

"You're right," Lucas said. "But you're not going to kill me."

"Yes, I am!" Michael yelled.

"If you were, you would have done it by now," Lucas said. "Now why don't you put the gun down and we'll talk about this."

"I don't have anything to say to you! I hate you!"

"Yes, you've made that very clear," Lucas said acerbically. "But I don't really get why. I mean, yeah, Ryan died. Yeah, it was probably because of me."

"So you do admit that you killed him!" Michael said, his voice shocked. Peyton was shocked too; how could Lucas ever believe such a thing? What happened to Ryan was in no uncertain terms Lucas's fault. Lucas had done everything in his power to save Ryan.

"I don't admit that I killed him," Lucas disagreed. "I admit that I was associated with his death. And for that, I'm sorry. I never meant for things to turn out the way they did."

Peyton's heart shattered at the sound of the raw hurt in Lucas's voice. Though it had been nearly seven months since Ryan's death, Lucas was still beating himself up over it. After the amount of times Ryan had hurt Lucas, Lucas still cared for the guy in some strange, twisted fashion.

Was it possible for Peyton fall more in love with Lucas than she already was?

"I don't believe you!" Michael said.

"Of course you don't," Lucas said. "I wouldn't believe you if you said that you did. You want to hate me. I don't really care. It's a free country, you can hate anyone you want. Believe me, I don't really like you that much either. And I couldn't stand Ryan. But you want to know something? I tried to save his life."

"No you didn't!"

"Yes, I did," Lucas said, his voice wavering. "I tried. Even after everything he did, even after he pulled me into that river, I still tried to save him."

"Why?"

"Because he was my brother," Lucas said. "And I thought that maybe that that could count for something in this fucked up world."

* * *

Peyton attempted to zip up her robe, hissing as the movement hurt her wrist.

"Want some help?" asked a soft voice.

She turned, surprised to find Haley standing behind her, propped up on crutches.

"Thanks," Peyton whispered as Haley reached up and zipped up the graduation gown. "How're you feeling?"

"I've been better," Haley admitted, shifting her weight on her crutches. "But I know that Lucas wouldn't want me to stop living on account of what happened to him."

"Hales," Peyton began.

"Look, Peyton," Haley said, adjusting her weight again. "I know that we haven't been on the best of terms since Nathan and I started fighting. I know that you probably think I'm a bitch and Nathan's right. I don't care. But I also know that no matter how angry you are at me, I'm always going to be here for you. Whatever you need. All you have to do is ask."

"Thanks, Haley," Peyton said softly. "And you know I'm here for you too."

Haley nodded. Peyton reached out and hugged the shorter girl.

"C'mon," Haley said. "There are people waiting for us."

* * *

Peyton crept forward another few feet, blinking in surprise as the vague silhouettes of Lucas and Michael came into her sight. Her breath caught in her throat as she saw Lucas standing, but swaying on the spot.

"You can blame me all you want for Ryan's death," Lucas said, his voice fading. "But I tried to save him. And if that makes me the bad guy in all this, then so be it. If you're going to kill me because I got there too late, then so be it. But know this: I tried to save him. But what did you do for him?"

"I was his friend!" Michael retorted.

"Some friend you were," Lucas snorted. "You weren't there the day he died. You weren't at his funeral. You weren't there for any of it. I wonder why that is."

"Shut up!" Michael shouted. "Shut up!"

Peyton caught a silver flash out of the corner of her eye.

"Lucas! Look out!" she screamed as the gun went off. She screamed again as the gun went off for a second time.

* * *

Peyton grudgingly allowed Haley to lead her back into the hallway where all of Tree Hill High's graduating class was now gathered.

"I'm going to go get in line," Haley told her, before disappearing into the hundreds of excited students.

"Hales!" Peyton protested. It was too late; Haley was gone.

"For a girl with a broken leg, she sure does move fast," a familiar voice chuckled from behind her. Peyton turned around, her eyes widening as Nathan pulled her into a hug.

"Nathan!" she exclaimed.

"Hey, Sawyer," he said , wincing as Peyton hugged him tightly. "Ow, ow, take it easy, will you? My shoulder's still kind of sore!"

"Sorry," she murmured, pulling away at once.

"Don't worry about it," Nathan said, shrugging his good shoulder. "How're you holding up?"

"Not so well," Peyton admitted, glancing around at her now former classmates. "It's all ending now, isn't it?"

"Or beginning," Nathan said. "It depends on how you want to look at it."

"Listen to you, you're sounding all _profound_," Peyton mocked, a ghost of a smile touching her lips.

"Hey, hanging out with Haley was bound to rub off on me sooner or later," Nathan said.

They stood there for a few moments, just staring at each other. Then, Peyton remembered something.

"I thought you were going to be released from the hospital for another week!" she said. "What are you doing here?"

"I broke out," Nathan said with a sly smirk. "I wasn't going to miss out on graduation, now was I? After all we've been through?"

Peyton's smile faded. Nathan sighed, a sad expression replacing the happy one.

"I know this is hard," he said, wrapping his good arm around her shoulders. "But he'd want you to go through with this. He wouldn't want you missing out on the important things."

"Nothing is important without him," Peyton said quietly. "Graduating from high school, my last summer in Tree Hill, going to SCAD… none of this seems real without him. Or important. He should be here, Nathan. I want him here, more than anything else!"

"I know, Peyton," Nathan said softly. "I want him here too. He deserves this more than anyone else."

"I miss him," Peyton whispered, tears sliding down her face. "I really miss him."

"I know," Nathan said again as she buried her face in his chest. "I miss him too."

* * *

"Lucas!"

Peyton ran forward the last couple of steps to Lucas's fallen form. She didn't spare Michael's body a second glance; he deserved everything that happened to him.

"P-Pey?" Lucas whispered as Peyton pulled his head gently into her lap. Peyton saw the pain in his eyes and let her tears fall silently down her face.

"You're going to be okay, Lucas," she said, more to reassure herself than anything else. "I'm right here. Help's on the way."

"I love you," he said, his voice barely audible. "You know that?"

Peyton nodded, her tears falling faster down her face. This can't be the end, she thought. This can't be.

"I love you too," she whispered, her voice full of emotion.

"I want you to do something for me," he said, reaching up with one hand and touching her face. "Promise me."

"What is it?" she asked, her heart slowing in horror.

"Keep living your life," he said softly. "Don't ever give up."

"You're not going to die!" Peyton said, her voice rising in fear. "You're not leaving me, Lucas!"

"Promise me," Lucas said insistently.

Peyton closed her eyes, trying to get herself under control.

"I will," she said quietly.

"I love you," he said again. "Don't ever forget that. I have always loved you and always will."

"Lucas," Peyton protested, her voice cracking. "I don't want to lose you."

He sighed once before going completely limp in her arms.


	52. Chapter 48

**Disclaimer: I do not own _One Tree Hill_ or any of its characters.**

**Author's Note: Wow. I didn't think I still had the power to amaze you guys. I mean, after all of the really awful things I have put these characters through, I thought I had become predictable. Guess not.**

**Author's Note 2: Thanks to all of you for the reviews. This chapter isn't my best one ever, but I like it. So... it's staying. And it's the last one. And there's not going to be an author's note, cause frankly, I think this chapter says it all. And there might be a sequel. Maybe. In the far future. **

**Reviews are welcome but unnecessary.**

**Broken Hearts and Healing Minds**

**Chapter 48**

Nathan probably shouldn't have signed himself AMA. He probably shouldn't have left the hospital. He probably shouldn't have avoided seeing Haley and Brooke or hearing about Stephen's miraculous, but totally expected recovery. He probably shouldn't have gotten in that damn car with Haley or gone to that damn bar with Lucas.

But he did. And now, he was fighting back the pain in his shoulder while simultaneously using said shoulder to break down a locked door trying to get to his idiotic brother and best friend who managed to find themselves once more in a dire situation and needed rescuing.

Life was so unfair sometimes. Most times. Ninety-nine percent of the time. Okay, all of the time. But this was more than unfair. This was downright cruel.

Nathan had no sooner broken open the damn door to the rundown piece of shit that Michael had chosen as his final stand when the ominous sound of a gun firing could be heard. Twice.

"LUCAS!" he shouted.

* * *

The ceremony was about to begin. Nathan felt an overwhelming urge to cry, throw up, and leave. This shouldn't have been happening. Not without the one person who had deserved this the most. The one person who should have been sitting next to Nathan, making snide comments about Stephen's god-awful tie or telling Peyton for the six billionth time that she was beautiful. Even with the dark circles underneath of her eyes and the mascara stains on her face.

The principal said some hollow supposedly inspiring words about facing the future and looking at each day as a gift to be alive. Nathan would have paid good money for Mr. Turner to just shut the hell up. He didn't want to hear about how the world was full of opportunities, just waiting for the graduates to stumble upon. He didn't want to hear about how high school was only a stepping stone in the journey that was life.

He didn't want to see Peyton's quiet tears or Haley's injured form a few rows ahead of him. He had no desire to look at Stephen and see Lucas for the millionth time that day. And he really did not want to look at Brooke and see the heart breaking self-hatred and guilt that had been haunting her every day for the past two and a half weeks.

He wanted to hear Lucas's voice. He wanted to see his brother's face just one last time.

But then again, America wanted world peace and for Korea to stop developing and harboring nuclear war heads. When exactly was that going to happen?

* * *

Peyton felt her breath catch in her throat as she heard Nathan's shout far above her. What was he doing here? Wasn't he supposed to be gravely injured in a car accident or something?

"NATHAN?" she yelled back. She didn't dare believe it.

There were heavy footsteps overhead, followed by a light shining down a hole ten feet above Peyton's head.

"How the hell do you get yourself into these situations, Sawyer?" Nathan asked, peering through the hole. "Is Lucas okay?"

Peyton shook her head violently.

"No," she said, desperately blinking back tears. She couldn't afford to break down. Not now. "He can barely breathe. I think he was shot."

"Shit," Nathan muttered. "Have you called 911?"

"I did before I came here," Peyton said. "But they're not here yet. It's been too long."

"It's been a busy night," Nathan said. "Hold on. I'm going to find some rope. Stay right where you are."

* * *

Peyton heard the final words of Mr. Turner's speech die away. Her heart caught as he began announcing Tree Hill High's graduates. It hit her then just how much she had been counting on this being a dream. That she would wake up and nothing over the past two weeks would have happened. Stephen wouldn't have gotten shot. Haley and Nathan wouldn't have gotten into a car accident. Lucas wouldn't have-.

"Stephen Burns."

Peyton was thankful for the interruption in her thoughts. She clapped alongside of Nathan, Brooke, and Haley for Stephen. She even let herself smile as she watched her friend walk across the stage.

A door in the back of the gym opened. Peyton craned her neck to see who the latecomer was, along with everyone else who was gathered. She only caught a glimpse of a white shirt before she was forced to turn her attention back to the ceremony at hand.

She hated herself for thinking that it could have been Lucas.

She knew it wasn't.

* * *

Nathan found some rope a few feet away from the rather large hole in the floor. He shuddered to think of why there was blood on it and prayed that Peyton didn't inspect it too closely.

Ignoring the collection of injuries he had earned over the past few hours, Nathan forced himself to walk back to the hole in the floor.

"Tie this around Lucas," he instructed. "I'll pull him up first."

"I don't want to move him," came Peyton's small voice. "He's in really bad shape."

"If we don't move him then he's going to die," Nathan said. "We don't have much of a choice!"

"Okay," Peyton said unsteadily. "Throw down the rope. And be careful when you pull him up."

* * *

Nathan winced as he once again shifted his weight. He knew he shouldn't have signed himself out of the hospital AMA for a second time, especially not after the two hour long surgery he had to undergo for re-injuring his shoulder, but he couldn't just abandon Peyton. And he wanted the chance to talk to Haley. And Brooke. And tell Stephen that he was sorry about everything.

He sighed as Mr. Turner continued on with the Cs. Nathan really hated long drawn out ceremonies. And as much as he told Peyton otherwise, Nathan really did not want to be sitting through graduation right now, pretending to be happy.

* * *

Nathan swore rather creatively as he gently eased Lucas up and over the side of the huge gaping hole in the middle of the floor. Blood coated Lucas's face and matted his dirty blonde hair. Debris and rubble clung to his torn t-shirt. His jeans were coated in dust and other substances that Nathan didn't even want to think about. Lucas's left leg was at an odd angle and blood seeped through a rip in the leg of his jeans. His wrists were red, raw, and swollen with burn marks that looked like rope. He had a cut above his eye and an ugly gash stretching from his shoulder down to his hand. But the worst was the wet, sticky patch that surrounded a hole near the base of his black t-shirt.

"Lucas," Nathan said helplessly as he army-crawled over to his brother. The floor shuddered violently beneath him, causing him to have severe flashbacks to that day in the apartment building.

Lucas's breathing was ragged and shallow. It was a miracle that he was still breathing at all. Nathan put a hand on his brother's forehead, alarmed to find it burning up.

"Nathan?"

Peyton's frightened voice made Nathan start. He wouldn't admit it to anyone, but he had completely forgotten about her in his alarm for Lucas.

"Hold on," he called. "I've got to get Lucas clear."

"Is he…?"

She trailed off, but Nathan knew what her question was.

"For now," he replied grimly. "Here's the rope."

* * *

Brooke felt as though she shouldn't be as happy and as relieved as she as when her name was called for her to walk across the stage. It wasn't fair to Peyton or Nathan or Haley or anyone else that she was happy right now. But she was. And it wasn't because she was graduating from high school or because Stephen was alive or because Michael was dead. Though those did have some small role to play.

She was happy because she had been right all along. Even if no one else believed her at the moment, they would soon. And for that, she was happy.

* * *

Peyton heard Nathan swearing as he pulled her up to the main floor of the house. She understood why—he had injured his shoulder earlier that day. But she couldn't help but feel an overwhelming sense of relief as she finally set her shaking legs onto the hardwood floor.

"Easy, you're okay," Nathan said softly, wrapping his arms around her and gently pulling her away from the edge. "It's okay. We're going to be okay."

Peyton had hardly been aware that she was shaking violently until that moment. She took a deep breath, trying to steady herself, before looking over at Lucas. Tears streamed down her face as she stumbled over to him and took his cold hand in hers.

"He's still alive," Nathan said from behind her. "Barely. But it's enough. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Peyton whispered. "We need to get him to a hospital."

"Yeah," Nathan said. "I didn't get my cell before I left. Where's yours?"

"There's no time for an ambulance," Peyton said, trembling as she stood up again. "My car's parked outside. Help me get him there."

Nathan looked hesitant for a brief second as he glanced at Lucas. Something in the older Scott's injured face must have convinced him.

"Let's go," Nathan said.

* * *

They had reached the Hs. Haley knew that it was only a matter of time before her name was called.

It was weird. She had been waiting for this day all of her life, but now that it had come, she no longer wanted it to be happening. She no longer wanted to be the valedictorian or have a full ride to Stanford or move on with her life.

And it was all because of Lucas. Lucas, the kid who had stood up to the mean bullies in third grade for her and been her best friend ever since. Lucas, the young man who stood up to his abusive father and became emancipated. Lucas, the one person Haley wanted to see more than anything, wanted by her side at this very moment, the one person who wasn't there, was the reason why she didn't want to graduate.

Because if she walked across that stage now, then that would be admitting that Lucas was gone. And she didn't want to admit it.

"Haley James."

* * *

"Drive faster, Peyton!"

Nathan's frantic voice from the backseat made Peyton start in alarm before doing exactly what he had asked. She was already driving well over the speed limit, which, given current weather conditions probably wasn't the best idea ever. But she couldn't slow down either. Because if she did, then that would mean Lucas would die.

So she pressed her foot harder on the accelerator, urging her faithful car to go a few miles faster so that they could outrun pain. Outrun death.

They pulled up into the parking lot of the hospital a few minutes later. Peyton prayed to whoever was listening that she had gotten there in time. That Lucas would survive.

* * *

They were closing in on the Ss now. Stephen realized then that Lucas wasn't going to be there. That if he was, he wouldn't have kept them all waiting.

For as much as the guy liked a spectacular entrance, Lucas wasn't one to make Peyton wait like this. If he was going to be here, then he would be here already.

"Peyton Elizabeth Sawyer."

In that moment, Stephen knew that Lucas was dead.

* * *

Peyton bit back a quiet sob as she got to her feet and walked across the stage. She put on some cheery, fake smile that never reached her eyes and freaked out the woman with the diplomas. She flipped her tassel because that's what she was supposed to do. She acted like she was okay, when really, she was dead on the inside.

She hadn't realized just how much she had been hoping that Lucas would come in and be there when she needed him at that moment. It was only after she had sat back down and the next name (Drew Saxon) did she fully begin to accept that Lucas was dead.

* * *

"Lucas Eugene Scott."

Silence greeted the words. Not a single person dared to breathe.

Nathan wished that Mr. Turner would move on to his own name already. Because the silence was suffocating. The complete and utter lack of his brother being there was heart breaking.

* * *

Lucas wasn't quite sure how he survived the events with Michael. He didn't know how he had gone from being in that house to waking up two and a half weeks later, completely surrounded by doctors who were telling him that he should have been dead. He didn't know how he had gotten from the hospital to the school without opposition.

But what he did know was that he wouldn't give anything in the world for the shocked, overjoyed, _loving_ expression on Peyton's face at that very moment as he walked across the stage.

* * *

Nathan felt as though he had been sucker punched as he jumped out of his seat. He didn't care how stupid he looked as he practically ran to the stage, tripping over his gown. He had to get up there to believe it. His brother. _Alive_.

He was barely aware that Peyton was right on his heels and Brooke, Haley, and Stephen were already on the stage.

"_Lucas_?"

"Hi."

It was all the older Scott could get out before he was tackled by Nathan in a huge bear hug.

"You're a right bastard, you know that?" he whispered into his brother's ear. "You were pronounced dead."

"I know," Lucas said, wincing slightly as Nathan pulled away. "And I don't know how I'm here. But I am."

"God damn it," Nathan said, refusing to admit that he was about to start crying.

"Luke?"

* * *

Peyton's entire world seemed to slow down as Nathan looked over at her and backed out of the way. In his place stood the one person Peyton had been hoping to see since this entire disaster of a graduation had started.

"Peyton," Lucas breathed.

And before either one of them really knew what was happening, they were in each other's arms, never wanting to let go.

* * *

The ceremony was beginning to come to a close. Haley had just finished with her speech when Lucas let go of Peyton's hand.

"I have something I need to do," he whispered to her with an impish grin on his face.

Peyton watched him go, not daring to blink incase this was all some sort of sick dream. She never wanted to wake up if it was.

Lucas walked onto the stage for the second time that day.

"May I?" he asked, gesturing toward the microphone in Mr. Turner's hand.

Mr. Turner looked bewildered as he handed the microphone to Lucas.

"I, uh, I'm not very good at this whole speech thing," Lucas began. "But, well, some things just need a speech.

"When I was fourteen years old, my mother was killed in a tragic car accident. I survived. At the time, I didn't know why or how and I didn't really care. All I knew was that everything that I had was gone. I was uprooted from my home, from my friends, and sent to live with a family that I knew absolutely nothing about.

"I hated my new life. I had everything that I had ever wanted, but I hated it. My mother was gone. I blamed myself. I didn't want to keep living after that."

The entire audience was staring at Lucas, an expression of confusion and shock on all of their faces. For the majority of them, this was the first time they had ever heard his story.

For Haley, Brooke, Stephen, Nathan, and Peyton, they were trying to figure out what the hell the not actually dead Lucas was doing.

"But time wore on and I met someone. Someone very special. And it's because of her, that I'm still here today. We've had our rough spots and times were we both thought that we weren't going to make it, but we did," Lucas continued. "And not two weeks ago, it was the worst it has ever been.

"As you all know, Michael Greenberg tried to kill me and nearly succeeded. By all rights, I shouldn't even be here. But I am. And I owe it all to one person. If it hadn't been for her, then I probably never would have had the strength to hold on. If it hadn't been for her, I probably would have given up long ago.

"But I didn't. And because of her, I am here today. So, would you, Peyton Elizabeth Sawyer, come here?"

Peyton stared at Lucas in shock as her feet moved on their own accord to the stage. Everyone was whispering and staring, obviously trying to figure out what was going to happen.

Lucas's expression was unreadable as she approached him. She raised an eyebrow questioningly. He merely smiled serenely in response.

She walked up the steps and over to him warily. She had never seen this side of him before.

"Peyton Elizabeth Sawyer," Lucas said again, dropping the microphone for a moment. He pulled something out of his pocket. Peyton's eyes widened as he dropped down on one knee.

"Will you marry me?"

Peyton stared at him in shock as around her the audience went completely silent with anticipation.

"Say something!" someone who she distinctly knew was Nathan shouted.

Peyton opened her mouth, trying to think of something. Anything. And she really wished she had found something better than her sarcastic response.

"Do you even have to ask?"

Lucas looked bewildered as Peyton held up her hand.

"I love you," she said. "You walked into my life when I was fourteen years old and never left. I have loved you since and I will always love you. So yes, Lucas Eugene Scott, I will marry you."

The crowd went wild. Lucas gave her a big dopey smile as he slid the beautiful ring onto her finger and took her hand in his.

"I love you too," he whispered.

* * *

**Heheehehehehehehe, did you honestly think that I would kill Lucas? After all the times I've told you guys I wouldn't? **

**I hope you all enjoyed the ride! It is finally over (after what... 3 years now?). So thank you for reading and reviewing and for just being awesome people.**


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